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...

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"...

Picture by 柳千的账号 A new city has been erected from farmers ground in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at the Mekong river in Bokeo province in Laos. Under the guidance of Chinese Businessman Zhao Wei it has become not only a tourism and property development but especially a hub for cyberscam and money laundering among other criminal activities. How does the government of Laos react? "Asia’s Most Conspicuous Criminal Enclave" and "Transnational crime along the Mekong" : Headlines of stories published by International Crisis Group published in 2023 and 2024. These described Kings Romans casino as an "open display of money laundering". These named Zhao Wei (Chinese: 趙偉) a crime boss, the Chinese businessman holding a 99-year licence for operations in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ, Chinese: 金三角经济特区) , created by the government of Laos for economic development in the northern province of Bokeo. These articles remembered, that...