On October 17, 2025, Thai Justice Minister Ruthapong Navolatan stated that Prime Minister Anutin had instructed the establishment of a special task force to conduct an in-depth investigation into the "Prince Group" case suspected of transnational fraud and money laundering.
The Minister of Justice revealed that the "Working Group on Combating Telecom Fraud and Cyber Financial Crimes" directly led by the Prime Minister will hold its first meeting on October 20th, focusing on the group's capital flow and related networks in Thailand.
Earlier, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the seizure of cryptocurrency assets worth more than $15 billion (approximately $50 billion), believing that the funds are related to “Prince Group” founder Vincent Chen, who holds British and Cambodian dual citizenship and is listed by the U.S. as the main accused of “telecom fraud conspiracy” and “money laundering conspiracy”.
Ruthapong pointed out that preliminary investigations showed that companies under the "Prince Group" claimed to have offices in multiple countries, including Bangkok, Phnom Penh and London, and were involved in real estate, hotels, office buildings, villas and private island development projects, claiming to have more than 3 million square meters of assets under the name of "Prince International Company."
“The relevant agencies in Thailand have conducted an investigation into the partners mentioned on the Group’s website, some of which involve listed real estate companies in Thailand, and are still confirming it,” the Justice Minister said.
Thailand's Deputy Chief of Police Chainong Piwang also pointed out that the National Police Bureau has assigned Assistant Chief Inspector General Gilapong Bride to investigate the flow of funds and the people involved in the case. He said: "The structure of this case is complex and involves multinational financial systems. Please give law enforcement agencies time to conduct in-depth investigations."
Sources from the Justice Department added that preliminary signs suggest that the group may be intersecting with some of Thailand’s business and politicians, and that the clues are being consolidated and will be submitted to a meeting of the Prime Minister’s office to be discussed next Monday.
Cambodian Chinese businessman Chen Zhi:
The “Prince Empire” for 10 years.
Chen Zhi, a Fujian-born Chinese citizen in his early 40s, is one of the founders of "Prince Group Holding" and is known by the outside world as one of the most influential Chinese businessmen in Cambodia.
According to public information, he entered the Cambodian market in 2009 and formed the "Prince Group" in 2015, creating a business map covering real estate, finance, energy, communications and banking in just a decade.
The group’s “Prince Bank” has become one of Cambodia’s renowned private banks.
Several international media reports that the United States and the United Kingdom recently froze overseas assets related to Chen, including Bitcoin and real estate, for a total of more than 50 billion baht.
In addition, Chen Zhi has stock affiliations with several listed companies, including Geotech Holdings Ltd., 01707.HK and Khoon Group Limited, 00924.HK.
He also owns a 25% stake in the Cuban cigar brand Habanos S.A. with a market value of about $2.5 billion.
On the social level, Chen Zhi obtained Cambodian citizenship in 2014 and served as senior adviser to former Prime Minister Hunson at a ministerial level, remaining in office after the formation of the new government in 2023.
Since 2018, he has attended several high-level conferences in Cambodia and ASEAN countries and has been awarded the Royal Medal, a luxury watch brand owned by his group "Prince Horology", which has been presented to foreign guests as diplomatic gifts.
However, since 2020, international public opinion has repeatedly questioned the connection between Prince Prince Group and cross-border criminal networks in Southeast Asia.
Although the relevant investigation is still in progress, Chen Zhi himself has not responded to the outside world so far, and Cambodia has not yet announced formal measures against the group.
Source: People's Daily Online Southeast Asia