Four Singaporeans found themselves working for companies or businessmen connected to alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi, with some serving as personal assistants and travelling aboard private aircraft.
However, the three men said they had not known about any criminal activity.
The fourth Singaporean identified by the newspaper could not be contacted.
Their employment or business links do not, on their own, prove that they knowingly took part in any crimes.
Four Singaporeans Worked Across the Network
The four Singaporeans identified are Alfred Law Hon Kit, Ryan Lee Chee Keong, Jason Teo Jing Shen and Alex Lim Zhongliang.
The Straits Times said it traced their roles through corporate documents, flight records and other official records over six months.
Law, Lee and Teo reportedly worked as personal assistants or business representatives for Chinese nationals Chen Sokly and Xiong Huajun.
Chen Sokly, who has also been known as Martin Chen, was identified by ST and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project as a senior figure allegedly referred to in a US indictment as one of Chen Zhi’s co-conspirators.
Xiong is a business associate of Chen Sokly but, according to ST’s checks, had not been named on a US sanctions list as at 11 August.
One Job Reportedly Led to Private Jets and Overseas Companies
Law told ST that he met Chen Sokly before 2017 while working at a financial services company in Thailand. Chen Sokly was initially a client before offering him a job.
Law subsequently held positions in several companies connected to Chen Sokly, including as a director and shareholder.
His work also took him to countries such as Cambodia, Cyprus, Malaysia, Thailand and the US. Social media posts from that period showed him with luxury cars, expensive watches and private aircraft, according to ST.
Law later recruited Lee to serve as Chen Sokly’s personal assistant.
Lee told the newspaper that his duties included accompanying his employer on private flights to places such as Hong Kong and Macau. He also said Chen Sokly once asked to use his name to establish companies in California because he did not yet have people there whom he trusted.
Corporate records reviewed by ST connected Lee to several companies belonging to or associated with Chen Sokly in Singapore, Cambodia and the US.
Lee said he gradually stopped communicating with Chen Sokly after declining to relocate or travel regularly to the US. He said their last contact was more than three years ago.
Another PA Set Up Companies in Singapore and Canada
Teo reportedly became the personal assistant of Xiong Huajun after meeting him at a bar in Singapore.
According to Teo, they met several more times before Xiong proposed that they start a company together.
Teo went on to register businesses connected to the Huntsman and Huione names in Singapore and Canada. One Singapore company associated with Huione was struck off the register in September 2025, while the Canadian company was also dissolved.
The US authorities had separately taken action against Huione Group, accusing it of being a major channel through which criminal organisations laundered proceeds from online scams.
Teo denied knowing about or participating in illegal activity. He also told ST that he had not been in contact with Xiong for at least three years.
Flight records reviewed by the newspaper showed that Lee and Teo travelled from Singapore to Palau on 23 April 2019 with Chen Sokly, Xiong and other people later linked to the Prince Group network.
The aircraft reportedly belonged to Hu Xiaowei, whom the US authorities identified as a senior Prince Group figure and sanctioned in October 2025. Singapore police said in June 2026 that they were investigating Hu and his associated company for suspected money laundering.
Fourth Singaporean Reportedly Supported Chen Zhi and His Family
The fourth Singaporean, Lim, reportedly held roles in companies connected to Chen Zhi in both Singapore and Taiwan.
ST reported that Lim was listed as a director of eight Singapore-registered companies sanctioned by the US in October 2025.
Taiwanese business records also listed him as a representative of eight companies there. Taiwanese prosecutors alleged that these firms formed part of a structure used to move criminal proceeds and purchase 18 luxury apartments worth NT$3.81 billion, or about S$150 million.
Documents obtained and verified by ST showed that Lim earned $8,000 a month as a senior executive assistant at Skyline Investment Management in 2025.
His reported responsibilities included handling Chen Zhi’s schedule in Singapore and attending to personal arrangements for Chen Zhi and his family.
ST said it was unable to contact Lim. A man who identified himself as Lim’s brother reportedly said in March that Lim had moved out and had not contacted him for several months.
Prince Group Faces Allegations of Forced-Labour Scam Operations
US prosecutors charged Chen Zhi in 2025 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
They alleged that Prince Group operated scam compounds in Cambodia where trafficked workers were forced to conduct cryptocurrency investment scams.
The US authorities also announced a civil forfeiture action involving about 127,271 bitcoin, valued at roughly US$15 billion at the time.
Singapore police had begun investigating Chen Zhi and his associates in 2024. Following a series of enforcement operations, the authorities said in June 2026 that more than S$600 million in assets had been seized or made subject to disposal restrictions.
Chen Zhi was reportedly arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China in January 2026.
The three Singaporeans interviewed by ST denied knowing about criminal conduct. Law said he stopped contacting Chen Sokly and the other associates following the sanctions announced in October 2025, while Lee and Teo said their relationships with their respective former employers had already ended years earlier.
