Prince Group

Prince Group, officially Prince Holding Group is a company based in Cambodia. Described as "one of Cambodia's largest conglomerates",[1] the company has interests in various sectors such as real estate (Prince Real Estate Group), financial services (Prince Bank) and airlines (Cambodia Airways).[2][3][4] In 2025, it and its chairman Chen Zhi were sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom for their alleged role in operating scam centers and online fraud.

History

The group was founded by Chen Zhi in 2015.[5] The Prince Group invested heavily in Sihanoukville, which became a "Chinese casino boomtown", offering physical and online casinos targeted at the mainland Chinese market, where gambling is illegal.[6]

In 2017, Chen and Prince Group co-founded the Jinbei Casino[7][8] with Sar Sokha, a Cambodian politician who later became Deputy Prime Minister.[9][10]

The businesses flourished until 2019, when online gambling was criminalized in Cambodia, followed shortly by the travel restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting collapse in inbound travel to Cambodia.[6]

In 2021, Prince Group was given the Corporate Social Responsibility Model Award by China Finance Summit (CFS).[11]

Criminal charges

In May 2020, Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau began investigating the Prince Group's connections to online gambling and money laundering. In July 2022, a court in Wangcang County, Sichuan alleged that the Prince Group had profited at least 2 billion Chinese yuan (US$700 million) from illegal gambling since 2016. A Prince Group spokesman denied the allegations, saying the Jinbei Group was unrelated and other entities were fraudulently impersonating the Prince Group.[6]

Assets belonging to the group were frozen in October 2025 as part of an investigation by the Department of Justice into wire fraud and money laundering by Chen. These assets included 127,271 bitcoin (worth over $14 billion, making this the largest cryptocurrency seizure to date) and 19 properties in London.[12][13] Hong Kong subsequently froze HK$2.75 billion (US$354 million) of assets tied to Prince Group,[14] with Singapore seizing S$150 million (US$115 million) of Prince Group assets including six properties, 11 cars and a yacht.[15]

In January 2026, Cambodia stated that Chen had been arrested, stripped of his Cambodian citizenship, and extradited to China with two others to face charges.[16] The central bank of Cambodia also ordered the liquidation of Prince Bank.[16]

In April 2026, Huione Group's former chairman Li Xiong was extradited from Cambodia to China to face money laundering charges. Chinese authorities described Huione as a subsidiary of Prince Group and Li as a key member of Chen Zhi's "criminal gang".[17]

Businesses and projects

External links