Southeastasia Insider

Updated June 26 2026 Hu Xiaowei arrested in Osaka, Japan In China the courts know him as Hu Xiaowei 胡晓伟, born in 1982 in Jiangsu. On the Caribbean islands Saint Kitts and Nevis he was registered as Chen Xiao'er 陈晓儿. Near Holland Park in London be bought a Victorian mansion for USD 39 million with the name Wu an Ming 吴安明 (passport from Saint Kitts and Nevis). In Singapore he held shares of companies with the name Hu Shi 胡适 (Cypriot passport). From this name there was a connection to a a nine-unit luxury property on Stanley Beach Road in Hong Kong. Here we will call this man with multiple identities Hu, according to his Chinese family name. Hu has for some months remained at large. He was a fugitive being tracked by Chinese, Taiwanese, Singaporean, South Korean, U.S. and UK authorities. But now Hu Xiaowei has been arrested in Osaka according to The Asahi Shimbun together with two other Chinese nationals. According to NHK investigative sources say Hu repeatedly entered Ja...

This screenshot captured from a video released by the Criminal Investigative Department of Chinas Ministry of Public Security on Jan 8, 2026, shows Chen Zhi, who is brought to China by Beijings Blue Sword Commando Unit (蓝剑突击队), one of the most well-equipped and well-trained Special Police Units. Alleged scam tycoon Chen Zhi (陳志) , founding chairman of Cambodian conglomerate Prince Holding Group, has been arrested and extradited to China, Cambodias Interior Ministry has declared according to channelnewsasia . Chen Zhi then was presented in a video released by the Criminal Investigative Department of Chinas Ministry of Public Security on Jan 8, 2026 by Chinas state media: Handcuffed, hood over head, hood taken away - and escorted by the Blue Sword Commando Unit (蓝剑突击队), the SWAT team of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. They may have taken him to Dongcheng District Detention Center in Beijing. These pictures were shown just days after U.S. special forces had abducte...

Chen Xiao'er (陈小二) (also known by his birth name Hu Xiaowei (胡小伟) and other aliases including Wu An Ming and Hu Shi ) is a Chinese businessman and an alleged key figure in the Cambodian-based "Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization," which has been linked to extensive cyber-scam operations, human trafficking, and money laundering. He was born in 1982 in China and is reportedly considered the "second in command" under the group's chairman, Chen Zhi. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Chen Xiao'er in October 2025 for his partnership in a company called Grand Legend International Asset Management Co., Ltd (大传奇国际资产管理有限公司) , which was developing a luxury resort in Palau with Chen Zhi. Investigative reporting by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed that he uses multiple identities and holds citizenship from Saint Kitts and Nevis. He changed the name on...

Robert Nogacki describes it on Linkedin: "The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has unsealed an indictment against Chen Zhi (陳志), charging the Chinese-Cambodian businessman with orchestrating one of Asia's most sophisticated transnational criminal organizations. The indictment reveals an operation that allegedly defrauded victims globally of billions of dollars through forced-labor cryptocurrency schemes while laundering proceeds through an elaborate network of ostensibly legitimate business enterprises. Chen founded and chaired Prince Holding Group, a Cambodian conglomerate operating over one hundred business entities across more than thirty countries. While publicly presenting itself as engaged in real estate development, banking, and hospitality, federal prosecutors allege that Prince Group's core business consisted of operating forced-labor compounds throughout Cambodia executing industrial-scale "pig-butchering"...