Warrant of arrest issued against S’porean linked to alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi

captain of Chen’s superyacht Nonni II

, is a director in at least two firms linked to Chen Zhi – Warpcapital Yacht Management and Capital Zone Warehousing.

Karen, Yeo and Tang were sanctioned by the United States Treasury along with Chen Zhi on Oct 14, 2025.

A third Singaporean – Tan Yew Kiat, 49 – was

, on suspicion of acquiring or using the benefits of Chen’s criminal conduct.

Tan is the director of SRS Auto Holdings, a firm linked by a revolving credit line to Chen’s investment firm – Skyline Investment Management.

The police have issued 121 prohibition of disposal orders against vehicles registered under SRS Auto.

In all, 146 people and entities around the world were targeted in the sweeping US sanctions.

Chen Zhi was

, and he has since been deported to China. His Cambodian citizenship has been revoked.

The authorities in the US have linked him to money laundering and wire fraud offences, adding that he was also allegedly involved in the running of forced-labour scam compounds.

The authorities in China identified him as the ringleader of a major cross-border gambling and fraud criminal syndicate.

Affidavits seen by ST showed that Yeo and Karen Chen left Singapore before the sanctions were announced.

Yeo left Singapore on Sept 20, 2025 to an undisclosed location, and Karen Chen left the country on Oct 12, 2025 and travelled to Cambodia.

While away, both suspects did not respond to multiple investigative requests from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).

Documents seen by ST showed Karen Chen was paid a monthly salary of about $15,000 as the chief finance officer at DW Capital, Chen Zhi’s family office in Singapore.

She was also the director or secretary of at least nine firms in Singapore directly linked to Chen Zhi.

Yeo, who was paid more than $12,000 as the chief executive officer at DW Capital, was linked to several firms tied to Chen Zhi, including Belize-registered Skyline Worldwide, and Marshall Islands-registered Skyline Worldwide Holdings.

Director of the Commercial Affairs Department, Ms Peggy Pao, said the arrests and extensive scale of assets seized in Singapore underscore police’s resolve to take “swift and decisive enforcement action” against individuals and corporate entities that seek to exploit Singapore’s financial system for criminal activities.

“The police are committed to bringing these criminals to justice and confiscating their ill-gotten gains,” she said.

She added: “We will continue to work with our foreign law enforcement counterparts and domestic partners to identify and take firm action against actors involved in transnational organised crime, so as to preserve the integrity of Singapore’s financial system.”

As part of the sanctions, the US Treasury designated Prince Group – a massive Cambodia-based corporation with interests spanning real estate, financial and consumer services – as a transnational criminal empire.

Several assets owned by the group were seized globally, including nearly 130,000 bitcoins worth around US$15 billion ($19.2 billion), and some 19 properties in London, including one worth nearly £100 million ($173 million).

In Singapore, police conducted raids on Oct 30, 2025, and

, including six properties, a yacht and 11 luxury vehicles.

On Nov 4, 2025, Taipei detained 25 people and

linked to Prince Group, including 26 high-end cars, properties and bank accounts.

The same day,

worth HK$2.75 billion (S$452 million) linked to the syndicate.

More recently, Cambodia’s central bank on Jan 8

– Chen Zhi’s Phnom Penh-headquartered banking and financing arm.

Since his arrest on Jan 6, Beijing has called for Chen Zhi’s known associates in his alleged criminal enterprise to turn themselves in before Feb 15, in exchange for lighter sentences.