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January 7, state television broadcast Chinese Drama Films: A masked and handcuffed man exits a plane in Beijing. The prisoner was Chen Zhi, the 38-year-old founder of Prince Holding Group in Cambodia, who is accused of running one of the largest fraud empires in Asia.
Cambodia had arrested Chen the day before and handed him over to China, ending years of speculation about whether the well-connected financier would one day face justice. But with Chen’s downfall dominating the headlines, another mystery remains: What really happened to his $15 billion bitcoin?
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Standard forfeiture
When the US prosecutors announced in October 2025 They confiscated 127,271 bitcoins from ChenThey described it as A “digital confiscation” of standard cryptocurrency. The US and UK have coordinated sanctions against 146 individuals and agencies linked to Prince’s group – the largest enforcement action targeting cryptocurrency-backed fraud. The message seemed clear: American justice caught a cryptocurrency criminal.
But according to Beijing, the real story began five years ago.
Hack 2020
In late December 2020, Chen’s Bitcoin mining pool was subjected to a devastating cyber attack. More than 127,000 bitcoins, then worth about $4 billion, have disappeared.
Chen was desperate. Second To the Chinese official mediaposted more than 1,500 messages offering great rewards to get their money back. Nothing came.
Then came October 2025. The United States Department of Justice unveiled an indictment against Chen and announced the confiscation of 127,271 Bitcoin. The number was almost identical to what Chen lost in 2020.
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“Not like normal pirates act.”
In November 2025, China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) released Technical report About the accident. Their most important discovery: The stolen Bitcoin was completely dormant for almost four years before moving to new addresses in mid-2024.
“This behavior is clearly inconsistent with traditional hackers who urgently seek to withdraw their funds,” the report said. “The operating model is more consistent with a state hacking organization.”
The blockchain analytics platform was evaluated Arkham Intelligence The final portfolios are the property of the US government.
He said Du Guodong, partner of the Beijing Haoti lawyerHe told a Chinese media outlet that the US indictment did not reveal how authorities obtained Chen’s private keys. “This suggests that the US government may have already stolen Bitcoinchain via hacking techniques as early as 2020,” he said.
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Washington was silent
The Justice Department has not addressed China’s allegations. She explains The indictment was filed with the Department of Justice in the Eastern District of New York It expands on Chen’s alleged crimes — vehicle fraud, forced labor, money laundering — but says nothing about how investigators gained access to his cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin requires private keysto transfer. Either Chen gave away his keys, someone close to him did, or they were obtained in other ways. The Chain Boys hired Schiller Flexner to challenge the seizure.
“Black eats black”
Chinese state media presents the issue in stark terms. The Beijing Daily newspaper described the seizure as “黑吃黑 (Black eats black)“—that is, criminals targeting other criminals.
“The US confiscated Chen Qi’s Bitcoin without any mention of returning the funds to global victims,” the newspaper wrote. “Behind the mask of the ‘global police’, they just want to take a stick for themselves.
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The victims are forgotten
Thousands of fraud victims are lost in the duels between the United States and China. Chen’s Prince Group allegedly runs at least 10 forced labor complexes in Cambodia, forcing trafficked workers into romantic “pig slaughter” scams. The Treasury Department estimates that the fraud in Southeast Asia was stolen At least $10 billion from American victims last year.
The $15 billion confiscated could theoretically compensate many victims. But Washington has not announced any recovery plan.
Cambodia revoked Chen’s citizenship in December 2025. His Prince Bank was ordered into liquidation. The empire collapsed within months.
The veracity of China’s accusations may never be clear. But questions remain: about state hacking, the security of cryptocurrencies, and who controls the rules in the digital financial system.
Fifteen billion dollars can be tracked on the blockchain. Accused fraud boss behind bars. But the money is still with a government that, according to his rival, may have stolen.
