Multiple identities expose deep ties to alleged Cambodian cyber-scam empire |
When the United States announced sweeping sanctions against Cambodia’s powerful Prince Group in October, the move was framed as a decisive strike against what Washington labeled a “Transnational Criminal Organization.” The conglomerate, with more than 100 companies spread across 30 countries, was accused of operating cyber-scam compounds built on human trafficking, forced labor, and industrial-scale fraud. Yet buried deep within the sanctions notice was a name that appeared almost incidental: Chen Xiao’er, described merely as a business partner of Prince Group founder and chairman Chen Zhi in a single overseas project.
Subsequent investigative reporting has now revealed that this characterization was profoundly incomplete. The man sanctioned as Chen Xiao’er is not a marginal associate, but a figure who has operated under at least four identities, held multiple citizenships, and played a far more substantial role in the Prince Group’s corporate ecosystem than US authorities publicly acknowledged. His real name, according to corporate registries and passport records, is Hu Xiaowei-and his story provides a rare window into how alleged transnational criminal networks operate behind layers of legal entities, offshore passports, and carefully managed public narratives.
OCCRP investigations have confirmed that Hu Xiaowei, Hu Shi, Chen Xiao’er, and Wu An Ming are all identities used by the same individual. These names are not mere transliteration variants or casual pseudonyms; they correspond to distinct passports, citizenships, and corporate records across jurisdictions as varied as China, Cyprus, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cambodia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Hu Xiaowei was born in 1982 in China’s Jiangsu province. His first known public appearance dates back to 2011, when Chinese state media accused him of leading the so-called “Knight Attack Group,” a criminal hacking collective. According to official reports, the group infiltrated the servers of a popular online video game, redirected traffic through their own systems, and siphoned off advertising revenue worth more than $10 million. While authorities arrested and convicted several members, Hu reportedly evaded capture and fled China.
He resurfaced years later under different circumstances. In 2016, Chinese media reported that Hu was arrested again-this time for allegedly running an online gambling operation valued at approximately $850 million. The outcome of that case remains unclear, but by 2017 Hu was no longer in China. Instead, he appeared in the United States as a director and shareholder in a medical investment company, New World Technology II........