Phnom penh: Cambodia has extradited an alleged scam boss to China, the Southeast Asian nation's Interior Ministry stated.

According to Anadolu Agency - English, Chinese national Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of Prince Group, was arrested and extradited to China. State-run AKP News cited a ministry statement released late Wednesday, confirming Chen's transfer. Alongside Chen, two other Chinese nationals, Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui, were also apprehended and extradited. The ministry highlighted that the extradition took place as part of cooperation in combating transnational crime, following a request from Beijing.

Born in Fujian, China, in 1987, Chen gained Cambodian citizenship in 2014, which was revoked last month to facilitate his extradition. He faces accusations of running a transnational crime network involved in cryptocurrency fraud, human trafficking, and money laundering.

Shortly after his extradition, the National Bank of Cambodia announced the liquidation of Prince Bank Plc, founded by Chen. The bank is now prohibited from conducting any banking operations, as reported by the daily Khmer Times. Since 2015, Chen has led Prince Group, managing a wide range of businesses across more than 30 countries.

In October, the United States charged Chen with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering, claiming the seizure of approximately $15 billion in bitcoin, allegedly linked to him, according to the daily South China Morning Post.