Alleged Chen Zhi associate Li Xiong extradited from Cambodia to China, CCTV says

BEIJING — An alleged core member of Chinese-Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi's online scam and money laundering operation, Li Xiong, was extradited from Cambodia to China, Chinese broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday (April 1), citing security officials.

Chen founded the Prince Group, a Cambodian conglomerate with fingers in everything from real estate to banking and airlines — and according to US prosecutors, cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes that stole billions of dollars from victims worldwide.

In a statement, the Cambodian government confirmed that he was extradited to China.

Li is the former chair of the Huione Group, the CCTV report said.

Huione Group allegedly laundered at least US$4 billion (S$5.1 billion) worth of illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025, according to the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency (FinCEN).

Of the US$4 billion total, FinCEN found that Huione Group laundered at least US$37 million worth of virtual currency that came from North Korean cyber heists, at least US$36 million from virtual currency investment scams, and US$300 million worth of virtual currencies from other cyber scams.

China sent experts to Cambodia to help with the investigation, which led to the arrest, Cambodian government spokesperson Touch Sokhak told Reuters.

"This shows Cambodia's will to clear out online scams and that Cambodia is not a safe haven for scam criminals," he said.

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