He Won "Entrepreneur of the Year." Then the US Took His $15 Billion in Bitcoin

In 2021 an international business award named Chen Zhi Entrepreneur of the Year. He owned a bank, had started an airline and held Cambodia's highest honorary title. In October 2025, US prosecutors took bitcoin worth about $15 billion from him, the largest forfeiture action in Justice Department history. Prosecutors say it came from forced-labor scam compounds. But the US has never explained how it got those coins. This is the story of Chen Zhi and Prince Group, told from US and UK government records and reporting by the BBC, the Guardian/Reuters and ICIJ: the rise, the money question, how "pig butchering" works, the October 14 strike, the bitcoin mystery, the problems in the American case, and where the money goes now. Chapters: 0:00 The hook 0:50 The nobody 1:33 The prince 2:30 The money question 3:28 What prosecutors say 4:20 Pig butchering 5:15 The compound 5:59 October 14 6:50 The bitcoin mystery 7:53 The cracks 8:34 The fall 9:22 Who gets the money Sources: US Department of Justice press release (Oct 14, 2025): https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chairm... US v. Chen Zhi, indictment, EDNY 1:25-cr-00312: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/med... US Treasury press release sb0278 (Oct 14, 2025): https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-... UK FCDO press release (Oct 14, 2025): https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk... BBC, Jonathan Head (Oct 23, 2025): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70... Guardian/Reuters (Jan 8, 2026): https://www.theguardian.com/world/202... ICIJ (Mar 18, 2026): https://www.icij.org/investigations/c... The Register (Nov 12, 2025), on China's CVERC claim: https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/1... Bangkok Post/SCMP (Jul 27, 2026) and The Diplomat (Jul 2026), on the Chinese charges Legal note: Chen Zhi has not been convicted in any country as far as public records show. Everything about alleged crimes is an allegation by prosecutors or governments; "an indictment is merely an allegation." Chen Zhi and Prince Group deny the allegations. China's claim about the bitcoin is presented as China's claim, not as fact. Stock footage is illustrative and does not show real people or events from this story. Government pages are shown as screenshots of public records. Video: Pixabay (31963655, AdisResic, Alex_Jauk, ArrowheadVenom, Coverr-Free-Footage, DarkSwannExplore, DesignScape, Dimitri_K, E_S_Mayorga, Eartvideos, Engin_Akyurt, FnBTV, GreenCardShow, Iconikmg, JohnSalvatore, Joker911, Kaffeesüchtig, KhabyLén, LadislavBur, Life-Of-Vids, Luis_Humanoide, Matthias_Groeneveld, Mayur_Deshmukh, Mohamed_hassan, MonitorFantasma, Monoar_CGI_Artist, MountainDweller, OrcaTec, Pixvault, QuinceCreative, Roque_dg, SAHN_VIT, SYG_Anime, SamuelFJohanns, Sapphoto, TRAPHITHO, Vacampbe, Vimeo-Free-Videos, VirtualZero, Western_Girl, WhiteHatDesigner, Whitechappel79, WizArto, ZENJOY-CAMERA, adege, andrey3dp, bellergy, blackmarketmusic, carl_watermark, doktorkleinmusic, elchao, fspik_now, gammeholton84, hamoodisohly, izhar-ahamed, jadeallencook, jeremy888, julientromeur, lawlaw91, maraexsoft, markohlson, nicknickkey, ninosouza, olenchic, olexlia, rashed7671, ryasnyansky, seandeilgat, spacetrip, ssuperman746, tbilly123, tolomedia43, tommyvideo, u_3qh8r5lcsn, u_etjkkdz15b, u_v1u4bvzae7, u_vouwa3go13, videoplasty, voltamax, wodokolor, xat-ch, zillurrahman1). Narration is AI-generated. #ChenZhi #PrinceGroup #CryptoScam #PigButchering #Bitcoin #FinancialCrime