Chen Zhi, founder of Cambodia-based Prince Group, has been prosecuted by US authorities for alleged large-scale investment fraud and money laundering, and bought a luxury property in Tokyo as a place to live, according to a business registration file in Japan released earlier this week.
Chen Zhi is a Chinese-American citizen, head of Prince Group in Cambodia, founded Prince Group in the Japanese capital in 2022 and is said to have sought a long-term residence status in Japan through business activities. The owner of Prince Group is known to regularly visit Japan.
The US Treasury Department accused Chen Zhi of being the mastermind behind one of Asia's largest criminal organizations, listing the Prince Group founder on the penalty list on October 14.
On the same day, the US Department of Justice prosecuted Chen Zhi and filed a lawsuit to seize about 127,271 bit bitons, currently worth $2 billion, alleging that they were proceeds and tools for Chen Zhi's fraud and money laundering plots. Some of this money may have been laundered into Japan.
Initially, Chen Zhi registered his residence address at a location near Prince Group's headquarters in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
However, in 2024, after establishing Prince Group in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Japan, this businessman changed his address to a luxury apartment in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
A source in Cambodia said that Chen Zhi often travels to Japan. However, not a single resident of an apartment in Tokyo that the Japanese media contacted has met Chen Zhi.
According to real estate websites and many other sources, all apartments in the apartment have a floor area of over 150m2. Monthly rent is around a few million yen, with some used apartments being offered for sale at more than 1.6 billion yen (about 10 million USD).
Ten days after the US Department of Justice announced the prosecution of fraud master Chen Zhi, Chen Zhi's registration address in the Japanese business registration book was transferred to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
On October 16, Japan tightened requirements for foreigners entering the country on business management visas, including increasing the minimum capital investment from 5 million yen ($32,500) to 30 million yen ($195,000). Chen Zhi's company in Japan has a charter capital of 5 million yen.
Fraud boss Chen Zhi, 37, is accused of being behind a global online fraud, human trafficking and money laundering network. There is currently no information about Chen Zhi's whereabouts.
After being sanctioned by the US and UK, Chen Zhi's assets in the UK and US were frozen. Law enforcement agencies from the US, UK, Singapore, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China) are investigating assets related to Chen Zhi's network.
