Cambodia liquidates a major scam bank linked to accused scam boss

A Cambodian bank founded by accused scam boss Chen Zhi, who has been indicted by the US over multibillion-dollar fraud and extradited to China, was ordered liquidated on Thursday, Cambodia's central bank said.

Prince Bank "has been placed under liquidation in accordance with the laws" of the country, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) said in a statement.

Prince Bank has been "suspended from providing new banking services, including accepting deposits and providing credit", it added.

The NBC said it had appointed auditor Morisonkak MKA as the liquidator.

Prince Bank is a subsidiary of Chen's Prince Holding Group, one of Cambodia's largest conglomerates, which Washington has said served as a front for "one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organisations".

Customers who have deposits at Prince Bank "can withdraw money normally by preparing documents for withdrawal", and borrowers "must continue to fulfil their obligations as normal", the NBC added.

Outside a Prince Bank location in the capital Phnom Penh, among 36 branches nationwide, an AFP journalist did not see any customers on Thursday morning. The bank has about a billion dollars in assets under management, according to its website.

Chinese-born Chen was sanctioned by Washington and London in October for directing alleged cyberfraud run by hundreds of scammers trafficked into compounds in Cambodia.

Protect Yourself From Frauds, Scams & Cyber Attacks, a keynote by futurist Matthew Griffin

Cambodian authorities said they arrested Chen and two other Chinese nationals and extradited them to China on Tuesday. The operation was carried out according to a request from Chinese authorities following months of "investigative cooperation", Cambodia's interior ministry said.

Chinese authorities have not commented on Chen's arrest since it was announced on Wednesday.

The US Justice Department declined to comment on Wednesday.

"This arrest comes after months of building pressure against the Cambodian government for continuing to harbour and abet a now famous criminal actor," said Jacob Daniel Sims, a transnational crime expert and visiting fellow at Harvard University's Asia Center.

The "vast majority" of the dozens of scam compounds in Cambodia operated with "strong support" from the government, Sims told AFP, adding that a change in status quo could only happen if international pressure on the nation's "scam-invested oligarchs" was sustained.

Cambodian officials deny allegations of government involvement and say authorities are cracking down. But Amnesty International said last year that rights abuses in scam hubs were happening on a "mass scale", and the government's poor response suggested its complicity.

Chen faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted in the United States on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges involving approximately 127,271 Bitcoin seized by the US, worth more than $11 billion at current prices.

Prince Group has denied the allegations.

US prosecutors in October unsealed an indictment accusing Chen of presiding over compounds in Cambodia where trafficked workers carried out cryptocurrency fraud schemes that netted billions.

Victims were targeted through so-called "pig butchering" scams - investment schemes that build trust over time before stealing funds.

The operations have caused billions in global losses.

Scam centres across Cambodia, Myanmar and the region lure foreign nationals - many Chinese - with fake job ads, then force them under threat of violence to commit online fraud.

Amnesty International has identified at least 53 scam compounds in Cambodia alone, where rights groups say criminal networks perpetrate human trafficking, forced labour, torture and slavery.

Experts estimate tens of thousands of people work in the multibillion-dollar industry, some willingly and others trafficked. Since around 2015, Prince Group has operated across more than 30 countries under the guise of legitimate real estate, financial services and consumer businesses, US prosecutors have said.

Chen and top executives allegedly used political influence and bribed officials in multiple countries to shield illicit operations.

In Cambodia, Chen served as an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, former leader Hun Sen. His Cambodian nationality was revoked in December, the interior ministry said.