Thailand seizes additional assets linked to Chen Zhi, bringing total to 460 million baht

Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) has moved to confiscate a further 115 million baht (approximately US$3.46 million) in assets linked to Chinese-Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi, who is awaiting trial in China on financial crimes charges.

Amlo said on Thursday, 13 August 2026, that its transaction committee had resolved to seize 431 additional assets. These included cash, gold ornaments, land plots with buildings, and digital assets.

The latest order follows an earlier seizure of 345 million baht in assets linked to Chen, which is still being considered for forfeiture by the Civil Court. Combined, the total value of assets seized from Chen in Thailand now stands at 460 million baht (approximately US$13.9 million).

Chen, 38, founded the Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group, which operated businesses spanning financial services and real estate across more than 30 countries. Authorities in China, the United States and elsewhere allege the group was linked to a sprawling online scam network.

Extradition and mounting legal exposure

Chen was extradited from Cambodia to China in January 2026, alongside two other Chinese nationals, following Cambodian authorities' determination that his Cambodian citizenship had not been legally acquired.

He is accused of masterminding transnational scam networks, committing fraud and concealing criminal proceeds. Charges against him in China have included operating an illegal casino, fraud, illegal business operations and concealment of criminal proceeds.

In late July 2026, Chinese prosecutors added a further charge of intentional injury to the list of offences against Chen. It remains unclear when he will stand trial.

Under Chinese criminal law, intentionally inflicting bodily injury that results in death or severe injury through especially cruel means carries a minimum sentence of ten years' imprisonment and can lead to execution in the most serious cases.

Global asset freezes intensify

Thailand's action forms part of a broader international campaign against Chen and the Prince Group network, which has drawn seizures and sanctions from multiple jurisdictions since late 2025.

The United States sanctioned the Prince Group conglomerate and indicted Chen in October 2025, accusing him of overseeing forced-labour scam compounds in Cambodia. US authorities have separately reported seizing approximately US$15 billion worth of Bitcoin linked to the case.

A Hong Kong High Court order issued earlier this year froze more than HK$9 billion (approximately US$1.15 billion) in assets linked to Chen and 41 other respondents, including three associates and 38 companies.

Taiwan's Taipei District Prosecutors' Office concluded its own investigation into the group's operations in March 2026, indicting 62 individuals and 13 companies and recording seized assets worth more than NT$5.5 billion (approximately US$173.9 million).

Enforcement agencies in Singapore, South Korea and Britain have also carried out large-scale seizures targeting the network, with more than US$130 million in business and property assets frozen in Britain alone.

Thailand had earlier reported, in December 2025, that it had confiscated more than US$300 million in assets tied to the wider regional scam network, including holdings linked to Chen, a Cambodian senator and two Thai nationals.

Prince Group has consistently denied that it or Chen engaged in any wrongdoing.

Regional scam industry under scrutiny

Cambodia has been identified by international observers as a significant hub for South-east Asia's transnational cyberfraud industry, with scam operations targeting victims worldwide through romance scams, fraudulent investment schemes and cryptocurrency fraud.

International organisations have estimated that global losses from online scams reached as much as US$37 billion in 2023, with more than 100,000 people believed to be working in scam operations in Cambodia alone.