UK, US cybercrime cooperation ‘continues’ after Chen Zhi extradition to China
A senior Cambodian official tells SCMP that Phnom Penh is collaborating with Beijing, Washington and London in the investigations
“We are collaborating with the US, China and also the UK,” Chhay Sinarith, a senior minister who also heads Cambodia’s Commission for Combating Online Scams, said in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Monday.
Chen, who held multiple citizenships including Cambodian, was deported to China last month.
His extradition, which Cambodian authorities said followed months of cooperation between the two governments, attracted widespread attention because he was indicted in the US in October and had also been sanctioned by both America and the United Kingdom.
US law enforcement has seized about US$15 billion worth of bitcoin alleged to be proceeds and tools of Chen’s scheme in what FBI director Kash Patel described as “one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history”.
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A number of governments across Asia, including Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, have seized assets or detained individuals related to Chen’s conglomerate, Prince Holding Group.