Cambodian scam rings facing disruption since kingpin’s arrest

Following the arrest and extradition of alleged billion-dollar scam kingpin and head of the Prince Group, Chen Zhi, earlier this month, the sprawling network behind Southeast Asian scam operations appears to be in flux.

Laundering services shutting down, “workers” fleeing their oppressive scam compounds and ongoing arrests are amongst the pressures facing the operations.

The organizations in question conduct so-called “pig butchering” scams on an industrial scale. These scams use romantic relationships or fake investment opportunities to extract money from victims, usually in crypto.

Earlier this week, blockchain forensics company Elliptic reported that Tudou Guarantee, a Telegram-based money laundering operation and scam infrastructure marketplace, had shut down.

Elliptic describes Tudou as a “dominant force in Southeast Asia’s scam economy.”

The platform had processed $12 billion worth of transactions. A boom in activity followed the shuttering of its predecessor, Huione Guarantee, last year.

Read more: Billion-dollar scammer Chen Zhi arrested in Cambodia, extradited to China

Cambodian crackdown

The Guardian reported yesterday that “thousands of people, including suspected victims of human trafficking, are estimated to have been released or escaped from scam compounds across Cambodia over recent days.”

Releases and escape attempts have been identified at 10 separate compounds across the country.

However, the report describes Amnesty International’s concern over the lack of support for the workers. They risk “being moved to a new scamming location — a trend in previous releases.”

On Tuesday, the BBC reported the arrest of “alleged scam mastermind” Kuong Li in Phnom Penh the previous week. He faces charges of “illegal recruitment for exploitation, aggravated fraud, organised crime and money laundering… since 2019.”

Going global

The arrest of Chen Zhi and ongoing crackdown capped off a 2025 in which Chinese pressure led to disruption in operations along the Myanmar-Cambodia border.

Workarounds, such as relying on Elon Musk’s Starlink for internet connectivity after power was cut off, were short lived. As the crackdown continues, with stiff penalties imposed on offenders, the highly mobile operations are expanding elsewhere.

Asian-linked cybercrime operations have now begun to pop up around the globe.

Euronews, citing a UN Office on Drugs and Crime report, mentions operations in Africa, South America, the Middle East and some Pacific islands.