On January 9, 2026, the founder and chairman of the Tai Zi Group, Chen Zhi, was arrested in Cambodia and has been deported back to mainland China. Chen Zhi was seen being escorted back to Beijing on a plane. He was dressed in a blue prison uniform, wearing handcuffs and a black hood, escorted by heavily armed special police officers. The public is watching closely to see if the authorities can recover Chen Zhi’s hidden substantial assets and whether they will compensate the victims of his fraud crimes.
The footage released by CCTV showing Chen Zhi being escorted back to Beijing on a plane displayed the petite Chen Zhi wearing a blue prison uniform with the words “Eastern View”, accompanied by handcuffs. A number of special police officers with live ammunition escorted him off the plane. Upon landing, the police removed his head covering, revealing Chen Zhi looking extremely worn and disheveled.
The armbands of the escorting special police officers indicated the “Blue Sword Assault Team”. The escort vehicle had a Beijing license plate.
According to public information, the Blue Sword Assault Team is a subordinate of the Special Police Corps of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, mainly responsible for handling tasks related to “terrorism, violence, and hijacking”. They are equipped with Type 95 assault rifles, custom-made Kevlar helmets, and other gear.
Chinese media in Cambodia, the “Cambodia-China Times,” reported on the evening of January 7 that Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of the Tai Zi Group, was arrested in Cambodia and has since been deported back to mainland China. Chen Zhi’s Cambodian citizenship was revoked in December 2025.
On January 8, the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China stated that Chen Zhi and his criminal group are suspected of operating illegal activities such as running casinos, fraud, illegal business operations, and concealing criminal proceeds.
Born in 1987, Chen Zhi, a Fujian native, initially worked at a relatively small and apparently not very successful online gaming company. His rise to prominence is deeply entangled with transnational crime and online fraud. In 2011, he entered the real estate market in Cambodia, became a Cambodian citizen in 2014, and founded the Tai Zi Group the following year, expanding its “black gold empire” from real estate to banking, finance, and tourism, with business operations spanning over thirty countries. He held dual citizenship of the UK and Cambodia.
In July 2020, Chen Zhi was conferred the “Oknha” honor by the Cambodian government and subsequently served as an advisor to Hun Sen (Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, current chairman of the Cambodian People’s Party, and chairman of the advisory council to the King of Cambodia) and the current Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Hun Many. From 2021 to 2022, the Tai Zi Group received the “Exemplar of Social Responsibility Award” at the China Finance Summit for two consecutive years, receiving high-profile promotion from Chinese state media.
In 2025, the US Department of Justice charged Chen Zhi with orchestrating fraud in Cambodia, stealing billions of dollars in cryptocurrency from victims worldwide. The US Treasury has seized over $14 billion worth of Bitcoin allegedly linked to him, marking the largest cryptocurrency seizure in history.
In 2014, after obtaining Cambodian citizenship, Chen Zhi’s Tai Zi Group established a “Technology Industrial Park” in Sihanoukville, which was, in reality, a fraudulent prison enclosed by high walls and barbed wire. Thousands of people were lured under false job pretenses, had their passports confiscated, and were forced to work 16 hours a day in brutal conditions. At just two locations, there were 1,250 mobile phones controlling 76,000 social media accounts, with a peak daily fraud of $30 million.
South Korean media reported that under the Chinese Criminal Code, large-scale economic fraud and organized forced labor could result in Chen Zhi facing life imprisonment or heavier penalties.
According to the South Korean newspaper “Chosun Ilbo,” on the 7th, the Cambodian Ministry of Interior issued a statement confirming the arrest of three Chinese nationals, including Chen Zhi, and their deportation back to China. The 38-year-old Chen Zhi is accused of operating a large criminal complex in Cambodia and conducting online fraud against citizens of various countries.
Upon Chen Zhi’s return to China, he will face trial in court. Legal experts point out that due to the scale and complexity of the case, the investigation and trial would be time-consuming. Legal professionals predict that even just identifying the flow of cross-border funds could take 1 to 2 years.
Once Chen Zhi’s crimes are established, he is expected to face severe penalties. He is charged with operating online casinos, fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, and forced labor. According to the “Wall Street Journal,” US prosecutors have evidence of Chen Zhi ordering and inflicting violence on workers in the fraudulent complex.
The report indicates that since obtaining Cambodian citizenship in 2014, Chen Zhi has relied on Cambodian nationality as a protective umbrella, evading extradition from overseas. However, last December, the Cambodian King ordered the revocation of Chen Zhi’s citizenship, removing his protection against extradition to other countries. The Cambodian government swiftly decided to expel him from the country.
It is reported that the focus of attention is on whether Chen Zhi’s hidden substantial assets can be recovered and whether compensation will be provided to the victims.
Apart from the $14 billion in Bitcoin seized by the US government last year, the Hong Kong police also froze assets worth HK$2.75 billion associated with Chen Zhi.