Chen Zhi, the founder of Prince Group, is facing a serious sentence due to his alleged operation of scam centers in Cambodia. Among other things, the individual has been charged with intentional injury – a charge that could lead to capital punishment.
Cambodia apprehended Chen Zhi at the beginning of 2026. The country’s interior ministry said that the Chinese national had been extradited to his home country after a joint operation with Chinese authorities.
Authorities clarified that the extradition was due to an alleged scam center operation in Cambodia that Chen allegedly ran. The operation involved numerous locations and was associated with an illegal gambling network. While Prince Group was officially a real estate, financial services, and airline conglomerate, it later turned out that the group also financed both retail and online gambling operations, despite the illegality of such products in Cambodia.
The gambling was operated by the Jinbei Group, which targeted Chinese nationals. Founder Liu Ren was recently extradited to China as well. Hu Shi, another person associated with Prince Group and the broader fraud operations, was recently arrested in Japan.
Chen Faces a Potential Death Sentence
Chen served as chair of Prince Group. He eventually came under fire by the US Department of Justice, which accused him of wire fraud and money laundering. US authorities also filed a civil forfeiture complaint against $15 million in seized Bitcoin. The Prince Group case continues to this day as US authorities continue to sanction more individuals and companies tied to the group.
Now in China, Chen faces charges that could even result in his execution. Per Chinese law, intentional injury charges carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison or capital punishment. While a sentence has yet to be delivered, China’s zero-tolerance policy on fraud makes such an extreme solution a realistic outcome.
If Chen does end up receiving a death sentence, this wouldn’t be the first time someone associated with organized crime has been executed either. Several months ago, China enacted capital punishment against almost a dozen members of a notorious criminal group that operated scam centers in Myanmar. The scam centers were related to instances of human trafficking, intentional injury and even intentional homicide.