The endgame for one of crypto’s most notorious alleged shadow operators arrived Tuesday. Cambodian authorities arrested and immediately extradited Chen Zhi, the billionaire founder of Prince Holding Group, to China. The move follows the revocation of his Cambodian citizenship by Royal Decree in December and caps a transnational dragnet targeting the architecture of industrial-scale "pig butchering" scams.
The Receipt: 127,000 BTC in Limbo
While Beijing takes custody of the man, Washington holds the money. The extradition solidifies the status of the largest cryptocurrency seizure in Department of Justice history. In an indictment unsealed October 2025, U.S. prosecutors detailed the seizure of 127,271 BTC, valued at approximately $15 billion at the time of the action.
"Individuals held against their will in the compounds engaged in cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes… that stole billions of dollars from victims in the United States." U.S. Attorney’s Office, EDNY
These assets are currently in U.S. government custody, removing immediate sell-pressure fears, but the sheer size of the stash, rivaling the holdings of MicroStrategy, creates a permanent overhang on long-term market structure discussions.
The Collapse of Prince Group
The fallout is already dismantling local financial infrastructure. Following the arrest, the National Bank of Cambodia placed Prince Bank Plc under liquidation, effectively freezing operations. This severs a critical fiat on-ramp allegedly used to launder proceeds from scam compounds into the legitimate banking system.
Chen, who acquired Cambodian citizenship in 2014, is accused of operating a sprawling network of forced-labor compounds where trafficked workers executed crypto confidence scams. The U.S. Treasury had previously designated Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization, citing its role in laundering billions through "spraying" and "funneling" techniques designed to obfuscate on-chain trails.
Institutional Implications
This extradition signals a rare alignment between Beijing and Washington on crypto-enabled capital flight. For market participants, the immediate risk is contained: the BTC is seized, not sold. However, the liquidation of Prince Bank forces a repricing of risk for other Southeast Asian payment processors and OTC desks operating in similar grey zones. The message is clear: when the scale hits $15 billion, sovereign protections evaporate.
