Cambodia Prince Group Affiliate Hu Xiaowei Sanctioned by UK

March 27 (Caixin) — Over two months after Chen Zhi, founder of Cambodia’s Prince Group, was detained, the UK has imposed additional sanctions on a Southeast Asian fraud network—including Hu Xiaowei, a close associate of Chen. The UK government labeled Hu Chen’s “longtime partner” in the Prince Group, noting ties to private servers of the game *Legend*. The pair later co-founded companies both in China and overseas. The sanctions notice, published on the UK government’s website March 26, targets multiple individuals and entities linked to the Prince Group. Thirty-eight-year-old Chen was born in a fishing village in Fujian. He previously ran an internet café and worked as a network administrator, launching his career as a hacker by seizing control of *Legend* private servers. More than a decade ago, he moved to Southeast Asia and became a Cambodian citizen. Within years, he controlled a global online fraud network, raking in millions daily from his “Duke” role and amassing a net worth of tens of billions of dollars. U.S. authorities alone confiscated bitcoins worth $15 billion from him. At his peak, Chen had a presence in Singapore, the UK, Taiwan, China, and other locations. In early January 2026, Chen was stripped of his Cambodian citizenship and extradited to China on suspicion of multiple crimes: fraud, illegal business operations, and concealing criminal proceeds.