Directors of Firms Linked to Sanctioned Cambodian Conglomerate Bought Properties in Japan

Since October, Cambodia's Prince Group has been under siege from authorities around the world, including the U.S. which dubbed it a “transnational criminal organization.”

Japanese authorities have so far remained silent, but flight and property records show that directors of several firms linked to the Prince Group have established a footprint in that country too.

In its October 14, 2025, sanctions announcement, the U.S. alleged that the Prince Group operated “industrial scale cyberfraud operations” in Cambodia, which were run out of “compounds reliant on human trafficking and modern-day slavery.”

A Prince Group spokesperson dismissed allegations against the conglomerate and its chairman Chen Zhi, who has been sanctioned and indicted in the U.S.

“Mr. Chen and his companies were not a criminal syndicate but a collection of legitimate businesses serving millions of people and employing tens of thousands of people across the globe,” the spokesperson said by email.

“Chen Zhi and the Prince Group of companies are innocent of the wild and unfounded accusations made by the U.S government, parroted in jurisdictions around the world,” the spokesperson added.

Among other global actions against the Prince Group, the U.S. has sanctioned dozens of companies, and the U.K. has frozen more than $200-million worth of property held by directors and entities linked to the conglomerate. The U.S. Treasury Department released a map showing Prince Group "offshore hubs and shell companies” in jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Laos and the British Virgin Islands.

Japan is not on the map, and authorities there have not made any public statements about investigating the Prince Group. A person who answered the phone at police headquarters in Tokyo said they were unable to answer questions.

However, Japanese media have reported that individuals tied to the Prince Group have traveled to the country and purchased properties . Japanese media have not named those individuals, but property and flight records show who they are.

Tokyo Mansions

OCCRP’s Japanese media partner, Tansa, obtained records showing that a director of companies linked to the Prince Group owns land in Chiba prefecture, on the eastern outskirts of Tokyo. That man, Chen Bo, purchased property in 2019 in a gated community called “One Hundreds Hills.” A 2,365-square-meter home sits on the plot of land.

Originally from China, Chen Bo acquired a Cambodian passport in 2014, according to the government’s citizenship gazettes.

While Chen Bo has not been sanctioned himself, Cambodian corporate records show he served as a director at nine companies that were. These include Byex Exchange Co. Limited and Tian Xu International Technology Plc, which the U.K. sanctioned for allegedly providing financial services to the Prince Group.

The mansion on the outskirts of Tokyo adds to another one Chen Bo bought downtown, near Zenpukuiji Park, just days before the U.S. and U.K. imposed sanctions on Prince Group. Shortly after those sanctions came down, he transferred the property to his wife.

Japanese media have reported that the two properties are together worth about $7 million, although they have not named him as the owner. The financial sources used by Chen Bo to secure these real estate holdings remain unclear.

Chen Bo did not respond to requests for comment emailed to his companies. A person who answered the phone at CCU Commercial Bank PLC, where he is listed as chairman, said there was no “staff member called Chen Bo” and hung up. A person who said he was his former assistant at  another company he chairs, Billion Wisdom Investment Co Ltd., said Chen Bo “is in China now.”

Corporate filings link Billion Wisdom Investment to another China-born Cambodian passport holder named Su Chang, who serves as co-director. Land records show that Su Chang purchased an apartment at Wellith One Aoyama, a prime development in the heart of Tokyo’s Minato neighbourhood, in 2021.

Su Chang did not respond to requests for comment emailed to his companies. The person who answered the phone at Billion Wisdom Investment said the company directors were not in Cambodia, and did not provide contact details.

Japanese land records show one more director of a Prince Group-related firm with real estate in Tokyo: Brendon Luo purchased a luxury apartment in the downtown neighborhood of Shibuya in May 2025. He is also from China and holds a Cambodian passport, according to the government gazette.

Also known as Luo Pinghua, Brendon Luo is listed in the Cambodian corporate registry as a director at Prince Plaza Investment Co. Ltd. The head of the Prince Group, Chen Zhi, is listed as the firm’s chairman. While Brendon Luo has not been personally sanctioned, the U.S. Treasury Department targeted Prince Plaza Investment as part of the Prince Group network.

The Treasury Department did not specify the exact commercial activities of Prince Plaza Investment, but listed it among more than 100 sanctioned companies it sai…