CaliToday (117/11/2025): Sanctions reveal Tier 1 "Golden Visa" holder bought £94m building near Bank of England, with associates acquiring flats overlooking US Embassy.
A 37-year-old alleged crime boss, known as Chen Zhi or “Vincent,” has become the symbol of a catastrophic UK security failure after it was revealed he secretly operated a multi-billion dollar global fraud network from the heart of London for five years, right under the noses of British authorities.
The revelation follows historic, coordinated sanctions announced by the US and UK on October 14, 2025, targeting Chen Zhi and his corporate entity, Prince Group.
For half a decade, Chen, the alleged mastermind of an empire US officials claim is built on online scams, forced labor, torture, and unprecedented money laundering, used London as a "safe island" to manage his international criminal enterprise, which he once boasted was worth $60 billion.
The "Golden Visa" That Opened the Door
The most glaring question for UK security services is how Chen entered and operated with impunity. Notably, while the United States had previously denied visas to Chen and many of his associates due to security risks, the United Kingdom rolled out the red carpet.
Chen’s "golden key" was the UK's controversial Tier 1 Investor Visa program a scheme long criticized by security experts as a backdoor for illicit wealth.
Cliff Teo, a former executive assistant who managed Chen's offshore shell companies for seven years, provided chilling insight. Teo stated that Chen chose London as "the safest place if Beijing tightens the screws."
Teo described a "post-Brexit Britain... desperate for money," which allowed Prince Group to secure residency for Chen and his associates with astonishing speed and minimal scrutiny. In a move that highlights the program's laxity, UK authorities reportedly granted residency to both of Chen Zhi's families—his primary wife and children, as well as a separate partner and their child.
A Property Empire in the UK's Sensitive Heart
Upon arriving between 2018 and 2020, Chen began a brazen property-buying spree, embedding himself in the UK’s financial and residential elite.
The Crown Jewel: In a shocking move, Chen purchased a £94 million (approx. $120M USD) commercial building on Fenchurch Street, a location just minutes' walk from the Bank of England and the dense concentration of Europe's largest financial institutions.
The "Base": He then spent £12 million to buy and renovate a lavish mansion in St John’s Wood, one of London's most exclusive neighborhoods. When The Times visited the property after the sanctions were announced, lights were still on and cars were parked in the drive—a location Teo confirmed as the home of Chen's wife and two children.
The "Safe House": A mistress and his other child were also housed in London, ostensibly for their education, solidifying the city as his personal and operational headquarters.
The US Embassy Connection
In a detail that has sent shockwaves through the intelligence community, Chen's cousin, Qiu Wei Ren, was found to have purchased 17 apartments valued at £26 million.
Most alarmingly, seven of these apartments are located in the Nine Elms district, with direct sightlines overlooking the new, high-security US Embassy. The strategic purchase raises terrifying questions about espionage and surveillance capabilities that may have been facilitated by the fraud network.
A $60 Billion Criminal Machine
While Chen lived a life of luxury in London, Prince Group was allegedly operating a criminal machine on a scale that dwarfs traditional cartels. A US Treasury official noted that a recent $13 billion Bitcoin seizure linked to the network was "just a fraction" of its true value, which Chen's $60 billion boast makes "many times larger than the assets of Latin American drug kingpins."
All of this the shell companies, the vast wealth, the criminal operations—was managed while Chen lived openly in London, seemingly invisible to UK anti-money laundering and security agencies.
The October 14 sanctions were the first major blow. An office on the Isle of Man was raided in March, but the network's speed outpaced law enforcement. In a telling sign, Chen Zhi fled the UK by air on the very same day of the raid, suggesting he was either tipped off or that UK authorities were hopelessly outpaced.
Though he has fled London, experts doubt he is gone for good. "They will go quiet for a while," warned his former associate, Cliff Teo, "and then they will come back."
As investigations continue, the case of Chen Zhi serves as a humiliating reminder of a critical British security vulnerability: a "golden door" so wide open that a $60 billion kingpin could build an empire in plain sight.