{"content":" --- The Billion-Dollar Phantom of Phnom Penh 👀💰 He once looked like the genius reshaping Cambodia into a glittering modern empire. Towering skyscrapers, splashy investments, a future carved from chrome and ambition. Then suddenly, the illusion cracked. U.S. authorities now say Chen Zhi wasn’t just a celebrated businessman. They claim he was the mastermind behind one of Asia’s biggest crypto crime networks, hiding dirty billions behind polished boardrooms and luxury branding. Still only 37, Chen sat atop the Prince Group—banks, airlines, real estate, high-end resorts—his name stamped across nearly every booming corner of the country. To outsiders, he symbolized prosperity. Investigators paint a far darker picture: a sprawling digital scam machine built on human suffering and over 14 billion dollars in illicit cash. His life launched in Fujian, China. Cambodia became his opportunity. New citizenship, rapid deals, unstoppable growth. Wealth came fast, power even faster. By his early 30s he was royalty-adjacent, shaking hands in political circles most people only see on TV. The great gambling collapse of 2019 was a reckoning for many. Fortunes evaporated. Yet Chen kept climbing, as if every crisis only cleared his path. Soon, the rumors turned into storm clouds… and now the world is finally asking what really fueled his empire. 👤🌪️","images":["https://d35imkjvkj28kt.cloudfront.net/uploadfile/article/blog/2025102025/10/25/ea277081c30cd8b925e84b891258716c.jpg"],"tags":[],"tradingPairs":[],"quotearticleid":0}