$15B Bitcoin fraud boss Chen Xi deported to China after arrest
Journalist
Hassan Shitu
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Chinese authorities have arrested businessman Chen Xi in one of the largest crypto fraud and money laundering cases ever uncovered.
The move would put the kingpin behind the billion-dollar pork-farming network directly into China's criminal justice system, raising questions about how Beijing would prosecute one of the most complex cross-border crypto cases to date.
Cambodia extradited Chen Xi after revoking her citizenship.
According to statements from the Cambodian China Times and the Cambodian Ministry of Interior, Chen Xi was arrested along with two accomplices, Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui, on January 6 in a months-long joint investigation by Cambodian and Chinese authorities.
Beijing wanted the three extradited to China. According to Cambodian authorities, the operation was carried out as part of a bilateral cooperation agreement involving transnational crime.
By December 2025, Chen had already been removed by a royal decree revoking his Cambodian citizenship.
38-year-old Chen He is the Chairman and Founder of Prince Group, which started operations in Cambodia in 2015 and has interests in real estate, finance and hospitality.
Although the company is officially a legitimate regional company, US and UK authorities have accused it of being a front to facilitate a vast criminal network they say is made up of online fraud, money laundering and forced labour.
Prince Group has denied all allegations.
The eviction was made possible after an enforcement effort by the United States in October that federal prosecutors said led to the seizure of more than 127,000 bitcoins linked to wallets operated by Chen and the network.
At that point, Bitcoin was worth approximately 15, which is the biggest cryptocurrency seizure associated with the use of online fraud.
The US Treasury and UK government have jointly designated Prince's group as a transnational criminal group, and US sanctions have been extended to dozens of crypto wallets containing hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin.
Chinese Courts Ready to Handle Global Crypto Fraud Case After Deportation
The schemes, commonly known as pork scams, instill trust in victims before leading them to fake crypto trading platforms.
Once the funds are deposited, the platforms are gone. Investigators said the proceeds were funneled through more than 100 shell companies, crypto exchanges and mining operations before being funneled into private Bitcoin wallets.
With Chen's return to China, the case now takes a new turn. Chinese law allows authorities to prosecute its nationals for serious crimes abroad, particularly those involving serious fraud, money laundering, and people-trafficking.
Although the official charges have yet to be announced, Chinese courts have previously handed down death sentences in similar cases, including life imprisonment and hard labor or forced labor.
Asset confiscation is also expected by Chinese authorities. Given that US authorities have seized billions of dollars worth of bitcoins in connection with the case, coordination with foreign governments is likely.
If the courts approve these measures, those assets could eventually be used to compensate victims.
The arrests are part of a wider international crackdown on crypto-enabled fraud networks operating across Southeast Asia.
Over the past year, regulators and law enforcement agencies have worked with major crypto firms to stop and recover illicit funds.
Tether, Binance, Coinbase and blockchain analytics firms have all helped track and ban assets linked to pork fraud.
US data shows that reported losses from these schemes will reach $3.6 billion by 2024.
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