Three Singaporeans and 17 Singapore-registered entities have been sanctioned by the United States (US) for their alleged ties to Chen Zhi — the chairman of Prince Holding Group, described as one of the largest transnational criminal organisations in Asia.
According to a US Treasury press release on Tuesday (14 Oct), Prince Holding Group is headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and has investments in entertainment, finance, and real estate.
However, the conglomerate has been accused of crimes such as human trafficking, forced labour, and cyberfraud.
Source: Prince Real Estate Group on Facebook
Chen Zhi, a 38-year-old China-born businessman who holds Cambodian and British citizenship, was revealed to be the group chairman.
On Tuesday, he was charged in New York with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering.
Source: Prince Holding Group
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) also seized 127,271 Bitcoin worth about US$15 billion (S$19.4 billion), marking the largest forfeiture in DOJ history.
The funds were stored in unhosted cryptocurrency wallets, controlled via private keys held by Chen Zhi.
One of the sanctioned Singaporeans is Chen Xiuling, also known as Karen Chen.
According to the US authorities, the 43-year-old oversaw the conglomerate’s operations in Mauritius, Taiwan and Singapore.
Business Times also reported that 20 companies — that have her listed as director, secretary, or both — shared the same address on the 8th floor of a building in Bukit Merah.
Among these is a company that managed Chen Zhi’s luxury yacht.
The second Singaporean sanctioned is Nigel Tang Wan Bao Nabil. He is listed as a director at three firms that share the address in Bukit Merah.
Source: Google Maps
Tang leads operations at Capital Zone, which offers storage solutions for luxury items such as wines, cigars and fine teas.
He also directs Quantum Yacht Asia, a yacht brokerage firm.
The third Singaporean, Alan Yeo Sin Huat, was identified by the DOJ as Chen Zhi’s financial aide and wealth manager. He allegedly coordinated large wire transfers, liased with banks, managed accounts, and disguised the group’s illicit finances.
Yeo holds passports from Singapore and China — a breach of Singapore’s laws on dual citizenship.
He was previously listed as the owner of several companies, including Redog Global Services, Nagami Asia, and Summer Stream Impex.
Of the 17 Singapore companies that have been sanctioned, several are categorised as “management consultancy” or “holding” firms.
Many of these appear to be shell companies with little to no actual business activity. They are part of an expanded group of 117 businesses affiliated with the Prince Group that have been targeted by the US authorities.
According to the US Treasury, Prince profited from a “litany of transnational crimes” — including “sextortion”, money laundering, corruption, illegal gambling, trafficking, torture, and extortion.
The group allegedly built at least 10 compounds in Cambodia, luring victims into scams and funnelling proceeds into shell firms.
Chen Zhi remains at large.
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Featured image adapted from Prince Real Estate Group.