Online cyberscam suspect arrested in Cambodia is extradited to China

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A businessman with alleged links to a multi-billion dollar online scam operation has been extradited from Cambodia to China, according to state agencies.

Li Xiong, a Chinese-Cambodian citizen who is a former chairman of the Huione Group, was arrested in Cambodia by a joint task force following an investigation over several months, according to the Interior Ministry.

Li is suspected of involvement in offenses including operating gambling dens, fraud, unlawful business operations and concealing and disguising the proceeds of crime, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported, citing Beijing’s Ministry of Public Security.

He is believed to be a high-ranking member of a criminal syndicate led by Chen Zhi, the founder of business and banking conglomerate Prince Holding Group, who is accused of running an online scam operation. Chen was extradited in January. Both men had their Cambodian national status canceled before bring sent to China. Their legitimate enterprises have denied any wrongdoing.

U.S. prosecutors in October unveiled conspiracy charges against Chen, alleging he masterminded a multinational fraud network using his other businesses to launder its profits. Chen had claimed he received $30 million a day from the scams, according to the U.S. indictment.

Cybercrime has flourished in Southeast Asia in recent years, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, with illegal operations making huge profits from victims around the world, according to United Nations experts and other analysts.

The illicit industry is closely involved in human trafficking, with foreign nationals employed to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, often after being recruited with false job offers and then forced to work in conditions of near-slavery.

The Huione Group has been accused by the U.S. Treasury Department of laundering billions of dollars for transnational criminal organizations, including North Korean hackers and Southeast Asian scam networks. It designated Huione a “primary money-laundering concern,” restricting any connections to the American financial system and prohibiting U.S. financial institutions from handling its business.

The group's digital banking arm, Huione Pay, had its license revoked by the National Bank of Cambodia due to noncompliance and its role in an “illicit online marketplace” that facilitated billions in criminal transactions.”

Cambodian lawmakers on Monday adopted legislation targeting online scam operations with up to life in prison after the government pledged to shut them down by the end of April.