Prince Group’s Chen Zhi Extradited to China; US Controls $15B in Seized Bitcoin

The Kingpin Falls

Cambodia has extradited Chen Zhi, the billionaire chairman of Prince Holding Group, to China following a coordinated dismantling of his alleged transnational criminal empire. The handover, executed Tuesday and confirmed by Beijing’s Ministry of Public Security on January 8, marks the endgame for what investigators describe as one of the world’s largest crypto-fraud syndicates.

Chen, 38, was arrested alongside associates Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui after Cambodian authorities revoked his citizenship by royal decree. The extradition resolves a months-long diplomatic standoff involving US indictments, UK sanctions, and intensifying pressure from Beijing to crackdown on the “pig butchering” industrial complex operating within its sphere of influence.

The $15 Billion Receipt

While China secured the individual, the United States has secured the assets. In a forfeiture action unsealed in late 2025, the Department of Justice seized 127,271 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $15 billion, from unhosted wallets controlled by Chen. This stands as the largest single cryptocurrency seizure in DOJ history, eclipsing the 2022 Bitfinex recovery.

According to on-chain analysis cited in court filings, the seized funds had been largely dormant since December 2020. Prosecutors allege these assets represent the laundered proceeds of industrial-scale investment fraud, where trafficked workers in Prince Group compounds forced victims worldwide to transfer crypto into fake investment platforms.

“By dismantling a criminal empire built on forced labor and deception, we are sending a clear message that the United States will use every tool at its disposal to defend victims.” . US Department of Justice

Institutional Fallout

The collapse of Chen’s network is already triggering contagion across Cambodia’s financial sector. The National Bank of Cambodia has placed Prince Bank Plc, the conglomerate’s financial wing, under liquidation, effectively freezing operations and signaling a total state disavowal of the group.

For the crypto market, the US government’s custody of another 127,000 BTC adds a massive supply overhang to the “State-Owned” heavyweights, joining the Silk Road and Bitfinex stockpiles. The question now shifts from capture to disposition: how and when the US Marshals Service will liquidate a hoard worth nearly 1% of the total Bitcoin supply.