Thailand, Singapore investigate Chen Zhi’s group after Western fraud allegations

Authorities in Thailand and Singapore are looking into a Cambodian real estate group after the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on the company’s chairman on allegations of fraud and money laundering.

Surapol Prembutr, commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, said Thai officials would work with their US counterparts to review the asset seizure process and legal proceedings involving Prince Holding Group, the Bangkok Post reported.

Singapore police were looking into the case and were in contact with authorities in other countries, the force said in a brief statement on Saturday.

Prince Group Chairman Chen Zhi was charged on Tuesday by the US with running a “sprawling cyber fraud empire” that led to the seizure of bitcoin worth about US$15 billion. In the UK, the government said 19 properties connected to Chen were frozen, including a £100 million (US$134 million) office block and a £12 million mansion in northwest London.

Chen and his associates were involved in setting up a family office in Singapore in 2018, which claimed to receive a tax incentive from the financial regulator. The government agency earlier said it was looking into whether there had been any breaches of its requirements.