PRINCE International Co., Ltd., located at Sino-Thai Tower office building in Sukhumvit 21 road (Asoke), today (Oct. 17) denied it is part of the Prince Group, a Cambodian company run by Cambodian and UK national Chen Zhi, aka Vincent, and sanctioned by US and UK for its alleged involvement in large-scale online scams and human trafficking, Amarin TV said.
People’s MP for Bangkok Suphanat Minchaiynunt said in a Facebook post that information from the Department of Business Development’s and the company’s websites show that Prince International Co., Ltd. is located at this building and that it is unclear whether this is just a coincidence and whether people know who the building’s owner is,
The 29-storey Sino Thai Tower was built by Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Plc (STECON) whose founder is Mr. Chawarat Charnvirakul, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s father.
However Prince International Co., Ltd., which operates a real estate brokerage business, clarified that it is a completely different company and unconnected to Prince Group and its owner Chen Zhi.
Even so the Prince Group appears to have operated an office in central Seoul, according to Korea Joong Ang Daily.
The group’s real estate affiliate, Prince Real Estate Group, lists a “Korea office” in Sunhwa-dong, Jung district, central Seoul, on its official website, according to Rep. Suh Bum-soo on Thursday. However, the listed contact number uses Cambodia’s country code.
Rep. Suh’s office said the address corresponds to a shared office space, and it could not confirm whether the group is actively conducting business at the location. The phone number was also found to be disconnected.
The US government has seized more than $14bn (£10.5bn) in bitcoin and charged the founder of a Cambodian business empire, the Prince Group, with allegedly masterminding a massive cryptocurrency scam, which involved forced labour camps, BBC said.
UK and Cambodian national Chen Zhi was charged on Tuesday in New York for allegedly engaging in a wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering scheme.
Chen’s businesses were also sanctioned by the US and the UK as part of a joint operation. The UK government says it has frozen assets owned by his network, including 19 properties in London – one of which is worth nearly £100m ($133m).
The BBC has contacted the Prince Group for comment.
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Top and Front Page – Prince Group owner Mr. Chen Zhi and the statement issued by Prince International Co., Ltd..Photo – Amarin TV
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