Huione's Former Chairman Takes an Unplanned Flight to Beijing: China Nabs Another Pig-Butchering Syndicate Big Fish

Li Xiong, the 41-year-old former chairman of Huione Group, has been escorted back to China from Cambodia, landing in Beijing on April 1, 2026. Shaven-headed and handcuffed, flanked by officers from China's Ministry of Public Security, Xiong faced the music after allegedly running one of the largest illicit crypto operations the world has ever seen. Apparently, his frequent flyer miles to Beijing weren't exactly accumulated through legitimate channels. The trip, arranged entirely by Chinese authorities, came with complimentary law enforcement and absolutely no refunds.

Xiong was a core member of the Chen Zhi criminal syndicate, the group behind Huione Group – an alleged money-laundering machine that served pig-butchering scam centers throughout Southeast Asia. These elaborate long-con investment frauds targeted victims globally, draining crypto wallets far and wide. For those playing along at home, "pig-butchering" is crypto slang for romance scams where schmucks are slowly fattened up with fake returns before the屠宰. Think of it as a Ponzi scheme with extra steps and significantly more crying.

The numbers are staggering. Huione Group's marketplace processed over $89 billion in cryptoassets – a volume that makes most legitimate exchanges look like small change. According to FinCEN findings, the group received at least $4 billion in illicit funds between August 2021 and January 2025, including proceeds from North Korean state-sponsored cyber heists. To put that in perspective: $89 billion could buy you roughly 900,000 Lamborghinis, or one very expensive centralized exchange that actually follows KYC.

This extradition comes three months after Chen Zhi himself was arrested. In October 2025, the US Department of Justice seized over 127,000 Bitcoin – worth more than $15 billion – from Zhi. That same month, FinCEN ordered US banks to sever all accounts and payments tied to Huione Group. Apparently, getting your accounts frozen by FinCEN is the crypto equivalent of getting ratioed on Twitter – it's over for you.

Chinese authorities have indicated more syndicate arrests are coming. Public security officials warned remaining criminals to surrender and "strive for lenient treatment" – essentially, don't make them come find you. Consider this your PSA: if you're currently running an offshore crypto money-laundering operation, now might be an excellent time to reevaluate your life choices. The flight to Beijing is not known for being pleasant.