PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — A businessman with alleged links to a billion-dollar online scam operation has been extradited cambodia To ChinaAccording to state agencies.
Li Xiong, a Chinese-Cambodian national who is the former chairman of Huion Group, was arrested in Cambodia by a joint task force after a several-month investigation, according to the Ministry of Interior.
China’s state news agency Xinhua, citing Beijing’s Ministry of Public Security, reported that Li was suspected of involvement in crimes including running gambling dens, fraud, illegal business operations and concealment and concealment of the proceeds of crime.
He is believed to be a high-ranking member of a criminal syndicate led by chen ziFounder of business and banking conglomerate Prince Holding Group, who is accused of running an online scam operation. chain was extradited in january. Both men had their Cambodian national status revoked before being deported to China. Their legitimate enterprises have denied any wrongdoing.
US prosecutors unveiled conspiracy charges against Chen in October, alleging he masterminded a multinational fraud network by using his other businesses to launder his profits. According to the US indictment, Chen claimed he was earning $30 million a day from the scams.
Cyber crime is thriving in Southeast Asia According to UN experts and other analysts, huge profits have been made from illegal operations around the world in recent years, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar.
The illicit industry is deeply involved in human trafficking, with foreign nationals employed to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, often recruited with false job offers and then forced to work in near-slavery conditions.
Huon Group has been accused by the US Treasury Department of laundering billions of dollars for international criminal organizations, including North Korean hackers and Southeast Asian scam networks. It designated Huion a “primary money-laundering concern,” which prohibits any ties to the U.S. financial system and prevents U.S. financial institutions from handling its business.
The license of Huion Pay, the group’s digital banking arm, was revoked by the National Bank of Cambodia due to non-compliance and its role in an “illicit online marketplace” that facilitated criminal transactions worth billions.
Cambodian lawmakers adopted it on Monday Legislation Targeting online scam operations could lead to sentences of up to life in prison after the government pledged to shut them down by the end of April.
