In January 2025, the O’Neal Webster team of Paul Dennis, K.C., Nadine Whyte Laing and Koya Ryan successfully applied on behalf of the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands, for the appointment of joint provisional liquidators over 30 BVI registered companies, alleged to be involved in a transnational criminal organization headed by The Prince Group, a Cambodian corporate conglomerate that includes companies incorporated in the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Cambodian national, Chen Zhi, is alleged to be the chairman and mastermind of The Prince Group which, together with Chen himself, has been the target of a variety of coordinated enforcement actions in multiple jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Cambodia.
According to public releases from these sources, The Prince Group is allegedly responsible for horrific criminal activities, including the operation of forced labour camps in Cambodia, human trafficking, large-scale scamming, crypto currency fraud involving billions of dollars and money laundering, on a massive international scale. Chen has been criminally indicted in the United States and is subject to personal sanctions by both the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Attorney General’s ex-parte application for the appointment of provisional liquidators over the implicated entities was made primarily on public interest grounds. The goal was to facilitate the immediate investigation of their affairs under the supervision of the BVI court, pending a full hearing. The application also sought to protect their assets for the benefit of victims, should the allegations of fraud against the Prince Group—of which they are alleged to be a part—prove true. Additionally, it aimed to ensure appropriate coordination with regulatory and enforcement authorities in the BVI and elsewhere, given the multi-jurisdictional nature of the alleged criminality. This also served the imperative of protecting the BVI’s reputation as a leading international finance centre by ensuring that its corporate vehicles are not exploited by “bad actors” to facilitate criminal conduct.
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For more information, please contact Paul Dennis, K.C. at [email protected] or Nadine Whyte Laing at [email protected] or call +1 284-393-5800.
