The Shadow Operative
An extensive investigation by The Straits Times and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has identified Chen Sokly—formerly known as Chen Xing—as the elusive “Co-conspirator-2” named in a U.S. federal indictment against the Prince Holding Group. Sokly, a Shanghai-born figure who obtained Cambodian citizenship in 2017, served as the primary “enforcer” and head of risk control for the multibillion-dollar scam syndicate led by Chen Zhi.
While Chen Zhi has been the public face of the Prince Group, Sokly operated in the shadows, managing a sophisticated network of shell companies and facilitating corrupt bargains with foreign officials. Prosecutors allege that Sokly was responsible for monitoring law enforcement investigations and ensuring the group’s “industrial-scale” cyber-scam compounds in Cambodia remained operational despite global scrutiny.
Corruption and Enforcement
The U.S. indictment details a pattern of bribery and intimidation used by Sokly to protect the syndicate’s interests. According to evidence uncovered by authorities, Sokly boasted about the network’s reach, claiming it generated US$30 million in daily illicit proceeds. In one instance, a ledger of bribes allegedly kept by Chen Zhi revealed that Sokly purchased a yacht valued at over US$3 million for a foreign government official to secure protection for the group.
Sokly’s role also involved violent intimidation. In July 2024, instructions were intercepted in which Chen Zhi directed Sokly to handle a group member who had embezzled funds from the syndicate. Furthermore, Sokly allegedly leveraged his influence to have local officials in China extort businesses on behalf of the Prince Group, demonstrating the syndicate’s reach into state-level structures.
The Singaporean Connection
Singapore served as a strategic hub for Sokly’s financial maneuvering. Between 2017 and 2023, he incorporated numerous entities, including M Capital Global Holdings, and resided in a luxury apartment at 10 Leedon Heights. Corporate records show he was a director of at least 16 companies in the city-state. Though his name was removed from most of these firms between 2020 and 2023, the footprint remains significant.
Sokly’s activities were deeply intertwined with the Huione Group, a financial services firm recently identified by the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as a “one-stop shop” for money laundering. Sokly’s firm, LM Car, entered a joint venture with Huione Technology in 2022, highlighting the operational synergy between the Prince Group’s physical scam compounds and the digital infrastructure used to convert illicit cryptocurrency into fiat currency.
Stakes and Regulatory Challenges
Despite the comprehensive sanctions imposed on Chen Zhi and the Prince Holding Group in October 2025, Chen Sokly has not yet been formally targeted by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This omission remains a subject of scrutiny, as Sokly continues to move assets, including the recent transfer of a multi-million dollar U.S. property into a trust operated by his wife.
The case underscores the difficulty global regulators face in piercing the veil of complex shell company networks and multi-jurisdictional identities. As law enforcement agencies continue to dismantle the Prince Group’s infrastructure, the focus is shifting toward the facilitators who enabled the syndicate to operate with impunity for nearly a decade.