Singaporean authorities said that the country's police had investigated Chinese billionaire Chen Zhi, founder of Prince Group in Cambodia, before the US announced the indictment against him last October.
The information was confirmed by Minister of National Development Chee Hong Tat, who is also Vice President of the Singapore Monetary Authority (MAS), in a recent questioning session before the National Assembly.
According to Mr. Chee, Mas has discovered two family offices involving Chen Zhi and her colleagues who have enjoyed tax incentives. Currently, both of these cases have had their incentives terminated and are under investigation.
Previously, on October 8, Chen Zhi - 38 years old, born in China - was prosecuted by the US for online fraud and money laundering, and was accused of directing the operation of forced labor fraud rings in Cambodia. As of October 14, both the US and the UK have announced sanctions against 146 individuals and entities, including Chen Zhi and Prince Group.
Minister Chee said Chen Zhi was not in Singapore, but the police had received financial intelligence from the potential Transaction Reporting Office (STR Office) in 2024, and had opened an investigation before the US indictment was released.
After the US and UK issued a press release, Singaporean police stepped up the investigation and launched a nationwide search on October 30, targeting individuals and companies related to Chen Zhi.
As a result, Singaporean authorities seized or frozen six properties, along with financial assets such as bank accounts, securities and cash, with a total value of more than SGD 150 million. Other assets, including a yacht, 11 luxury cars and many expensive bottles of wine, were also included in the list of prohibited liquidation.
During the discussion session at the National Assembly, lawmaker Kenneth Tiong (Workers' Party) raised questions about the mechanism for supervising family offices and the appraisal process of Mas before granting them tax incentives.
In response, Mr. Chee affirmed that Singapore always maintains high standards in financial management, but "could not have a risk of zero". He quoted: There is a Chinese saying: When we open the windows, a few flies can fly in. The solution is not to close the windows, but to quickly handle the flies that get in, while still letting light and fresh air flow in.
Not only Singapore, many countries and territories have simultaneously tightened the surrounding of Chen Zhi and Prince Group in recent weeks.
In the US, the Treasury said it has seized nearly 130,000 Bitcoin, worth about $15 billion, related to Prince Group.
In the UK, authorities have seized at least 19 properties in London, including a house worth nearly $130 million.
On November 4, the prosecutor of Taipei (Taiwan, China) announced the arrest of 25 people and freezing 4.5 billion yuan (145 million USD) of assets related to Prince Group, including 26 luxury cars, real estate and bank accounts. On the same day, Hong Kong (China) authorities also froze assets worth 2.75 billion HKD (353 million USD) of this network.
Meanwhile, Chen Zhi's whereabouts are still unknown, and investigations in Singapore are still ongoing.
The important thing is that we must act quickly and resolutely when detecting violations. And that is what Singapore is doing, said Mr. Chee.
