Singapore arrests man linked to Cambodian tycoon in alleged scam empire
Nigel Tang Wan Bao Nabil has been sanctioned by the US for his ties to Prince Group founder Chen Zhi.
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SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man suspected of being involved in money laundering offences linked to Cambodia's Prince Holding Group was arrested on Dec 11.
In response to CNA's queries, the police said on Friday (Dec 19) that Nigel Tang Wan Bao Nabil was arrested on his return to Singapore and that he is suspected to be involved in money laundering offences linked to Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of Prince Group, and the companies associated with him.
"Police investigations are ongoing."
Tang, 32, was the captain of a superyacht owned by Chen, the Business Times reported.
Chen is a British-Cambodian tycoon accused of running forced labour camps in Cambodia used as multi-billion dollar scam centres. He has been indicted in the United States.
Washington has said that Prince Group served as a front for "one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organisations".
The multinational conglomerate boasts over US$2 billion worth of projects in Cambodia, including a large shopping mall, Prince Plaza, in the capital Phnom Penh.
Prince Group has denied the allegations.
Tang was one of three Singaporeans sanctioned in October by the US Treasury Department for their ties to Chen.
In late October, Singapore police said they had seized more than US$115 million in assets tied to Chen following raids on multiple locations in the city-state.
Chen allegedly directed operations of forced labour compounds across Cambodia, where hundreds of trafficked workers were held in prison-like facilities surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, according to US prosecutors.
Under threat of violence, they were forced to execute so-called "pig butchering" scams - cryptocurrency investment schemes that build trust with victims over time before stealing their funds, according to the US Department of Justice.
Since around 2015, Prince Group has operated across more than 30 countries under the guise of legitimate real estate, financial services and consumer businesses, the prosecutors said.
Proceeds were laundered in part through the Prince Group's own gambling and cryptocurrency mining operations.
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