Beijing ¨C Li Xiong, a former leader at a Cambodian financial conglomerate accused of laundering money for crime organizations, has been extradited from Cambodia to China, Cambodia said on Wednesday, adding that the action showed it was cracking down on scam ?operations.

Li was a former chairman of the board at ?Huione Pay. ?He is accused of being a core member of ?Chinese-Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi¡¯s criminal syndicate, according to Chinese broadcaster CCTV.

Chen was extradited to China in January and is currently detained in China.

The U.S. said ?last October that it and the U.K. had taken action against Chen¡¯s Prince ?Group, calling it a transnational criminal empire involved in online investment scams, as well as against the Huione Group, which ?it accused of laundering the proceeds ?of such scams, as well as cyber heists conducted by North Korea.

Huione, ?which has been dissolved, was not able to be reached for comment.

A spokesperson from the Prince ?Group said Li Xiong and Huione Pay had never been employed ?by, ?associated with, or owned by Chen Zhi or the Prince Group of companies.

¡°Authorities around the globe have rushed to sanction, and now arrest, a broad array of individuals by claiming they are associates ?of Mr. Chen and Prince, without any foundation, evidence, or basis in fact for such wild and outrageous claims,¡± the spokesperson said, asking not to be named for security reasons.

The Huione Group allegedly laundered at least $4 billion worth of ?illicit ?proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025, according to ?the U.S. Treasury Department¡¯s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

China sent experts to Cambodia ?to help with the investigation, which led to the arrest, Cambodian government spokesperson Touch Sokhak said.

¡°This shows Cambodia¡¯s will to clear out online scams and that Cambodia is not a safe haven for ?scam criminals,¡± he said.

Mao Ning, China¡¯s foreign ministry spokesperson, told a regular news conference that China would continue to cooperate with Cambodia on combatting cross-border telecoms fraud.