How a business associate of a leader in an Asian criminal syndicate circumvented stringent penalties
The United States and the United Kingdom have seized multiple holdings belonging to the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Syndicate. Nevertheless, one individual, penalized as a purported conspirator, was able to amass properties and enterprises by utilizing a different persona.
When the US recently enacted “extensive penalties” against a considerable Cambodian ring accused of digital fraud and illicit money transfers, the foremost name listed alphabetically among the 146 targets was Chen Xiao'er.
However, records indicate that Chen Xiao'er is an alias. The real identity of the 43-year-old Chinese citizen is Wu An Ming. He possesses a passport from the Caribbean country of Saint Kitts and Nevis. As per OCCRP, he initially employed this passport using the name Chen Xiao'er in 2017, and by 2020, he had officially changed his legal name to Wu An Ming.
Under his present name and utilizing his St. Kitts and Nevis passport, Wu An Min possesses roughly $45 million worth of property in the UK and manages an extensive international investment assortment, ranging from publicly traded entities to exclusive private aircrafts, OCCRP has discovered.
Corporate documents reveal that he established a firm in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) under a new appellation and employed it to procure a previous university athletic complex and acreage in west London. Furthermore, he acquired a manor in central London under his legal name in 2022, financed partially by a mortgage obtained from Citibank, according to the documentation.
By that juncture, the Cambodian ring, which the US Treasury Department designated as the “Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization,” had purportedly been pilfering billions of dollars from victims worldwide for several years.
The US imposed penalties against “Chen Xiao'er” relating to a company developing an extravagant resort on a leased isle in the Pacific nation of Palau. Incorporation papers reveal that a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis bearing that name established the firm jointly with Chen Zhi, the chief of Prince Group.
Wu An-ming did not respond to inquiries regarding his various identities. His representative asserted he was a “longtime associate” of Chen Zhi, but their sole collaborative venture involved a resort in Palau. According to the representative, the project was “unjustly penalized,” and Wu An-ming has already submitted an appeal against the measures levied against him.
“Mr. Wu has no other corporate affiliations, economic equities, or ownership interests with Mr. Chen Zhi or the Prince Group,” the aide stated in an electronic communication. “Over the years, Mr. Wu has autonomously invested in stocks and emerging technologies, and all these investments are meticulously documented.”
The US Treasury Department provided no feedback when requested for comment.
The UK, which jointly imposed penalties against Prince Group with the US, did not include Chen Xiao'er or his authorized name, Wu An Ming, on the enumeration.
The UK Foreign Office refrained from commenting on whether authorities were aware of his London properties and multiple identities. They stated via email that they “do not provide insight into sanctions listing procedures.”
Grand mansion and sports club
Apart from investments in equities and innovations, OCCRP obtained documents from UK corporate and real estate records confirming that Wu An Ming is the owner of London real estate.
In March 2022, he acquired a grand mansion for £30 million (about $39 million)—situated moments from Holland Park in one of London's priciest locales. Records illustrate that he purchased the property utilizing his name directly, not via a company, and attained a mortgage from Citibank.
Wu An Ming's manor is situated adjacent to Holland Park in London.
New US sanctions might place Citibank in a precarious situation, according to attorney Clif Burns of the Washington, D.C., legal practice Crowell & Moring. American entities are barred from conducting business with individuals and entities incorporated on sanctions directories—and Chen Xiao'er (also recognized as Wu An Ming) is presently included.
The identity muddle does not absolve American financial institutions of responsibility, Burns articulated.
“The circumstance that the US Treasury Department fails to provide the existing names and nationalities of those specified on the sanctions registers does not entitle banks to disregard the prohibition on interaction,” he conveyed to OCCRP. “The US sanctions infrastructure functions on the tenet of strict accountability, suggesting banks may be penalized even for inadvertent transgressions.”
Citibank did not furnish a response despite repeated requests for comment.
A few months post acquisition of the grand mansion, Wu An-ming procured an additional property—the prior Imperial College sports arena on Adney Park Road in London's esteemed Teddington. The transaction, valued at £3.5 million (roughly $4.6 million), was consummated through his enterprise, Leisure Focus Limited, chartered in the British Virgin Islands.
Correspondents detected an operational rugby field on the premises, yet the recreational facility was secured. Initially, the property was vended to another investor, who then resold it to Wu An Min in 2022.
Imperial College Sports Ground, Adney Park, Teddington, UK
In September of the same year, Leisure Focus also procured a 10-year leasehold (a form of tenure permitting holding of a property for a stipulated period) on a townhouse in the eminent West London residential quarter of Maida Vale. The asset was priced at £235,000 (approximately $308,000).
The location is occupied by a modest edifice accommodating the Monet Beauty Clinic, sharing its designation with a clinic in Cambodia controlled by a senior executive of the Prince Group . In 2023, Leisure Focus transferred the lease to the clinic.
Nigel Kushner, a sanctions authority at London law firm W Legal , remarked that in the UK, parties entwined in real estate undertakings are obligated to vet their clientele.
“Lawyers participating in substantial property transactions are legally compelled to assure that patrons are operating under their legal identities and legitimate sources of funding,” he clarified.
Property in Maida Vale acquired by Leisure Focus Limited in 2022
Recently, OCCRP reported on another individual who, similarly to Wu An Ming, was penalized by the UK and US for his alleged involvement in the Prince Group arrangement – he likewise acquired luxurious properties in London and Dubai.
When announcing penalties against the Prince Group and Chen Zhi, the UK government revealed the asset freeze, incorporating a $16 million mansion and a $133 million office building. Also sequestered were 17 residences, which authorities cited as belonging to Chen Zhi and his “network of affiliates” via offshore enterprises in the British Virgin Islands.
In its defense, Prince Group articulated on November 11: “The recent assertions are unfounded and designed to justify the unlawful confiscation of billions of dollars in assets.”
Conversely, UK authorities assert that a portion of the gains from the Prince Group's fraudulent schemes were channeled into the property market. UK and US authorities also highlighted that several participants in these schemes are themselves casualties: allured with assurances of genuine employment, subsequently held under guard and menaces of violence.
“The ringleaders trailing these monstrous swindles are demolishing the existences of susceptible individuals and procuring London real estate to conceal their wealth,” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper conveyed on October 14.
Worldwide business conglomerate
In conjunction with Leisure Focus Limited, through which Wu An Ming obtained property in the UK, he also possesses another offshore entity, Future King Inc., registered in the British Virgin Islands in February 2017. This firm is integral to his international business architecture.
Through Future King Inc., Wu An Ming is the actual proprietor of at least two Hong Kong asset management firms: China Reserve Securities Ltd, authorized by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and Future Wing Financial Company Ltd. Both entities are registered at a shared address in Hong Kong.
Records display that Future King acquired China Reserve Securities in December 2018. In its inaugural yearly report subsequent to the ownership change, the entity declared a registered capital of HK$238 million (approximately US$30 million).
Responding to inquiries, China Reserve Securities reported that it “does not represent Mr. Wu personally.”
“Although he functions as a shareholder and director, he is not implicated in the daily conduct and does not possess a continuous attendance at the entity,” the organization appended.
Future King Inc. likewise possessed an equity in Nanomix Corp., a Nasdaq-listed healthcare company manufacturing tests to diagnose ailments.
In August 2025, Future King procured a share in Boyaa Interactive International Limited, a Hong Kong-based online gaming and cryptocurrency company. It presently holds over $400 million in Bitcoin.
Future King Inc. also invested in HyalRoute Communication Group Limited, a Singapore-based firm specializing in the construction of fiber optic networks.
Company rosters in Hong Kong and mainland China also evince that Future King owns a multitude of aircraft leasing enterprises. Some of its aircraft are documented in the US and operate flights throughout Asia.
A handful of the aircraft were leased to Cambodia Airways, a commercial airline that Radio Free Asia previously reported a company spokesman characterized as part of the Prince Group.
Furthermore, Wu An-ming and Chen Zhi established Grand Legend International Asset Management Co., Ltd., which bore the responsibility for constructing a resort on an island in Palau, which turned into the formal grounds for US sanctions against Wu An-ming.
As reported by the businessman's assistant, “due to the requirement for construction proficiency during the reconstruction of numerous villas for private utilization and periodic rental, the company collaborated with Mr. Chen Zhi, who possessed exposure in overseas development endeavors.”
“This collaboration birthed a mutual association rigorously confined to this endeavor.”
