History
The group's founder, Chen Zhi (also known as Vincent Chen), was born on December 16, 1987, in Fujian, China. [4] His first businesses were reportedly an internet café and gaming centers in Fuzhou, China. [4] Around 2010, Chen Zhi moved to Cambodia. [5] [6] According to CNN, he began investing in Cambodian real estate around 2011. [4]
In 2014, Chen became a Cambodian citizen, which was, according to CNN, "an option available to applicants who donate $250,000 to the state". [4] Chen also holds Vanuatu citizenship and Cypriot citizenship. [7]
In 2015, Chen founded the Prince Group. [6] 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. [8]
In 2017, Chen co-founded the Jinbei Casino [9] [10] with Sar Sokha, a Cambodian politician who later became Deputy Prime Minister. [11] [12]
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. [8]
In 2020, Norodom Sihamoni, the King of Cambodia, awarded Chen Zhi the title of Neak Oknha, which reportedly requires a donation of at least $500,000 to the government." [6]
In 2021, a consortium led by Chen purchased a 50% stake in Cuba's largest cigar producer Habanos S.A. [13]
In 2021, Prince Group was given Corporate Social Responsibility Model Award by China Finance Summit (CFS). [14]
In 2021, Hang Lung Properties was given the “2021 Corporate Social Responsibility Model Award” at the 10th China Finance Summit. [15] [16]
Criminal charges
In May 2020, the Beijing branch of the Public Security Bureau of China 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. [8]
In October 2025, Chen was charged by U.S. authorities for allegedly engaging in a wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering scheme. According to the Department of Justice, Chen controls a "sprawling cyber-fraud empire" that operated at least ten pig butchering scam centers in Cambodia. Assets belonging to the group were frozen as part of the investigation, including 127,271 bitcoin (worth over $14 billion, making this the largest cryptocurrency seizure to date) and 19 properties in London. [17] [18]
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