Cambodia has revoked 18 casino licences associated with Prince Group, Chen Zhi and Li Kuong over the past year, and suspended a further 10, as it widened its action against technology-enabled scam networks.
The measures were disclosed at a Nov. 6 briefing led by Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, head of the Commission for Combating Technology-enabled Scams. Authorities said they were intended to bring alleged scam ringleaders to court and interrupt the money-laundering channels supporting their operations.
The crackdown has also frozen more than $300 million in bank accounts, alongside movable and immovable property worth hundreds of millions of dollars. As we reported on Oct. 22, Cambodian courts had already frozen almost $1 billion in Prince Group-linked assets while the investigation continued. Those court-ordered freezes cover buildings, casinos, thousands of real-estate holdings and other property, but are not final confiscations and remain subject to judicial review.
Cambodia said it had intensified cooperation with the FBI and Interpol to dismantle transnational syndicates. Investigators are using digital evidence obtained from electronic devices and technological systems to build cases against alleged ringleaders without waiting for complaints from victims.
From July 1, 2025, through Oct. 31, authorities acted at 972 suspected locations nationwide, prepared 568 cases for court proceedings and charged and detained 5,032 suspects. They also repatriated about 23,760 foreigners from 38 nationalities.
The Prince Group investigation has separately produced arrest warrants for 32 people, while four others were placed under judicial supervision. Cambodia has sought Interpol’s help to locate at least 29 alleged ringleaders who fled abroad, and investigators have identified 198 companies linked to the group, including 98 registered in Cambodia and 100 overseas.
The action follows a broader review of the casino sector. Cambodia had audited all 195 licensed casinos nationwide after authorities said licensed venues could be used as legal shells for online scams, requiring stronger management and inspection.
Prince Group has also faced action in the United States. The Justice Department charged Chen, the group’s founder and chairman, with wire-fraud-conspiracy and money-laundering-conspiracy offences over alleged forced-labour scam compounds in Cambodia. The U.S. Treasury has designated 146 targets within what it calls the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization, a Cambodia-based network that it said operated online investment scams and at least 10 Cambodian scam compounds involving human trafficking, forced labour, illegal online gambling and money laundering.
