The Captained Billion-Dollar Black Industry Empire, Who Never Forgot His First Pot of Gold Earned from a "Legend" Private Server
Chinese national Chen Zhi, the mastermind behind the massive transnational criminal network known as the "Prince Group," was extradited from Cambodia to China on January 7th. His criminal empire, which operated over 100 entities across more than 30 countries, was involved in money laundering, telecom fraud, and online gambling, generating an estimated daily profit exceeding $30 million.
Chen's origins were humble. Born in a Fujian fishing village in 1987, he worked as an internet cafe manager before entering the illicit world of *Legend* (传奇) private servers. He was a member of the "Knight Attack Squad," a group that used DDoS attacks to monopolize the advertising market for these unauthorized game servers, earning his first fortune.
He later relocated to Cambodia, where he built the Prince Group. Its operations included real estate and banking, but its core business was crime. U.S. authorities moved to seize 127,271 Bitcoin from Chen, valued at approximately $15 billion, marking the largest such forfeiture in U.S. history.
A key part of his gambling operation involved embedding a plugin called "Fat Girl" (胖妞) into *Legend* private servers. This plugin forced players to gamble to progress in the game or convert virtual items into cash, creating a massive online casino that funneled billions through shell companies.
Despite attempts to launder his image and investments through seemingly legitimate tech ventures in China, these fronts were shut down by police. Chen's story illustrates a path from exploiting vulnerabilities in early internet gaming to building a vast, destructive criminal empire, ultimately ended by international law enforcement cooperation.
marsbit01/18 13:27
