According to ChainCatcher, citing Caixin, after more than two months of detention, Prince Group founder Chen Zhi of Cambodia has faced further sanctions from the UK against Southeast Asian fraud networks, including Hu Xiaowei, who is closely associated with Chen Zhi. The British government has described Hu Xiaowei as a "long-term collaborator of Chen Zhi" within the Prince Group, with the connection originating from a private server of the game "Legend of Mir" and later jointly establishing companies both domestically and internationally.
The UK government website published the sanctions information on March 26, targeting several individuals and entities associated with the Prince Group. Chen Zhi, 38, the founder of the Prince Group, hails from a fishing village in Fujian. He previously ran an internet cafe and worked as a network administrator. He made his fortune by hacking and "robbing" private servers of the online game "Legend of Mir." Over a decade ago, he went to Southeast Asia and obtained Cambodian citizenship. Within a few years, he controlled a single global telecom fraud network, earning millions daily with his dukedom, amassing a fortune of hundreds of billions of dollars. The Bitcoin seized by the US alone was worth $15 billion. At the height of his power, Chen Zhi also had operations in Singapore, the UK, Taiwan, and other locations. In early January 2026, he was stripped of his Cambodian citizenship and extradited to China on charges of fraud, illegal business operations, and concealing the proceeds of crime.
