The fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China concluded in Beijing on Oct 29, underscoring the importance of strengthening governance and intensifying the fight against corruption. These priorities extend beyond national borders.

As the Chen Zhi case illustrates, transnational criminal networks often exploit corruption, illicit financial flows and gaps in cross-border enforcement to sustain their operations. Combating them requires not only stronger domestic oversight but also closer international cooperation.

The case also demonstrates what such cooperation can achieve: authorities in multiple jurisdictions have taken coordinated action to pursue the criminal network, file charges, impose sanctions and seize billions of dollars in assets.

Chen Zhi, a Chinese national and chairman of Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group, was at the center of a sprawling cross-border criminal investigation. Chinese authorities were investigating his group on suspicion of involvement in illegal gambling, fraud and other crimes.

United States prosecutors allege he was running operations where trafficked workers were forced into cryptocurrency investment fraud, targeting victims worldwide. In October 2025, US authorities charged Chen and designated his network as a transnational criminal organization, while also taking custody of cryptocurrency assets worth approximately $15 billion.

Following several months of joint investigative cooperation, Cambodian authorities arrested Chen at China's request on Jan 6, and transferred him to China the next day for investigation.

Though the assets seized were the largest forfeiture in the US Justice Department's history, the scam economy is much larger. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion was lost to scams across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand in 2025 alone. It is a criminal industry of extraordinary scale that intertwines money laundering, human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

Investigating criminal networks of this scale requires evidence from diverse sources — criminal bases, banks, digital platforms, records and corporate registries across multiple jurisdictions.

No single authority can accomplish this alone; it requires a concerted global effort. As the Chen case shows, such cooperation has begun to take shape.

The US and UK coordinated sanctions against Chen's illegal network. Within weeks, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region froze $354 million in suspected linked assets, while China's Taiwan region seized approximately $147 million, and Singapore seized more than S$150 million ($117 million).

The Republic of Korea subsequently imposed its first independent sanctions targeting transnational crime, covering 15 people and 132 entities associated with the network.

Although these measures and Cambodia's extradition of Chen are not part of a single investigation, they demonstrate that governments with different legal systems and political priorities can unite against common threats. Combined with support from civil society and the UN, they lay a solid foundation for the next phase. It also shows that these criminal networks are a shared regional concern.

The task ahead is to investigate the corrupt exchanges that allowed this criminal ecosystem to operate for years, recover illicit gains and address the damage inflicted.

US prosecutors allege that Chen and his associates bribed public officials, which could explain how the enterprise continued to operate for a long time. Investigators must establish not only where the fraud proceeds went, but also who received the bribes.

The National Democratic Institute's September 2026 report, Scam State Architecture, offers a roadmap for investigators to trace and confirm specific exchanges and responsibilities.

The inquiry must also go beyond public officials. UNODC's report details an ecosystem fueled by banks, casinos, crypto platforms and professionals — including accountants, company-formation agents and lawyers — who facilitate the movement and laundering of illicit funds.

Investigative reporters, researchers and civil society play a crucial role in exposing these arrangements that official investigations might miss.

China is an active participant in this cooperative architecture. At the 11th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, in Doha in December 2025, Vice-Foreign Minister Hua Chunying reaffirmed China's commitment to fugitive repatriation and asset recovery, advocating for "fast, convenient and efficient channels for practical cooperation" and emphasizing that no "safe haven" should be provided for corruption crimes.

The UNCAC addresses these interconnected concerns comprehensively. Article 12 deals with integrity in the private sector, Article 13 promotes societal participation and Article 14 mandates anti-money laundering measures. Good governance and justice hinge on the detection and accountability of masterminds, perpetrators, and enablers.

The UNCAC also offers a blueprint for holistic international cooperation. Article 46 provides for mutual legal assistance in obtaining evidence, conducting searches and freezing proceeds while Article 49 covers joint investigations. The UNCAC establishes the legal basis and pathways for international cooperation, reducing dependence on bilateral arrangements and fostering collaboration based on shared commitments, while respecting the fundamental legal principles of each country and preserving domestic safeguards.

Its asset-recovery chapter advances cooperation further. Article 51 establishes asset return as a fundamental principle, and subsequent articles address direct recovery, international cooperation in confiscation and victim compensation.

The Chen Zhi case is more than a demonstration of effective financial tracking. It is an opportunity to extend cooperation into the difficult terrain of exposing and addressing corrupt exchanges, pursuing public officials and private facilitators who serve criminal networks, recovering proceeds, and securing victim redress.

The UNCAC provides the means to do this. Its promise will be realized when this pursuit is carried out as persistently as investigators traced the Bitcoin.

The journey begins when some trafficking victims are freed or when the Bitcoin is found. But the job is finished only when those who grease the engines, protect and facilitate broader criminal ecosystems are held accountable and those who suffered get justice.

This is a demanding task, and it takes everyone's contribution, but the promising beginning, the meeting of wills and the empowering UNCAC have already laid the groundwork.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.