When a film about an investigation into a phone scam in Cambodia debuted at the Busan International Film Festival in 2018, it was not the cast or the plot that drew attention in China.
Instead, the focus was on the film’s executive producer, Chen Zhi – a billionaire Chinese businessman who has himself been accused of running a sprawling online scam network in Cambodia.
In The Prey – touted as Cambodia’s “first million-dollar action movie” – an undercover Interpol operative ends up in jail.
But in real life, Chen is now in custody. He has been charged with the crimes of “operating a casino, fraud, illegal business operation and concealing criminal proceeds”, according to Chinese police.
Chen was arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China earlier this month, along with two other Chinese nationals.
State television aired footage of Chen arriving in China. In a scene that could have been from a movie, the 38-year-old was shown handcuffed and with a black hood over his head as he was led off a China Southern plane by armed police.
