Bonfire Night arrest at Changi: Karen Chen is detained in Prince Holding Group probe as restricted assets top S$700 million

Singapore police arrested Chen Xiuling, also known as Karen Chen, at Changi Airport on 5 November 2026 under a warrant linked to ongoing investigations into the Cambodia-based transnational scam syndicate Prince Holding Group. The 44-year-old Singaporean was charged in court on 6 November with one count of instigating another person to falsify accounts and one count of attempted cheating, both connected to a 2022 property lease application.

• A warrant for Chen’s arrest had been issued earlier in 2026; police had previously indicated she was believed to be in Cambodia.

• On 6 November, the prosecution sought a six-day remand for further investigations.

• Chen objected, requesting to be allowed to rest at home, but the court granted the remand application. She is represented by lawyers from Rajah & Tann. Her case is expected to be mentioned again on 12 November.

• The offences carry significant maximum penalties under Singapore’s Penal Code 1871. Instigating falsification of accounts (Section 477A read with Section 109) is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. Attempted cheating (Section 420 read with Section 511) is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine.

The arrest and the expanded asset restrictions sharpen questions about corporate ownership structures, the verification of documents submitted to public authorities, and the financial channels used by transnational scam networks operating across multiple jurisdictions.

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• According to the Singapore Police Force, Chen was a director of several Singapore-registered companies believed to be beneficially owned by Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group.

• These included Skyline Investment Management Pte Ltd and Capital Zone Warehousing Pte Ltd.

• In September 2022, Skyline submitted a business plan and a false agreement to JTC Corporation seeking approval to take over the lease of a property. Chen is alleged to have instigated an officer of Capital Zone Warehousing to falsify that agreement with intent to defraud, and to have submitted the document in an attempt to cheat JTC.

• Court documents provide further detail. Chen is accused of instigating an employee of Capital Zone Warehousing to falsify a “Cigar Investment Agreement” dated 5 September 2022 between that firm and Cars and Coffee Gem Pte Ltd.

• The document allegedly claimed Cars and Coffee Gem would invest S$23 million in Capital Zone Warehousing over three years.

• She is further alleged to have arranged for the purported agreement to be submitted to JTC around 26 September 2022 in an attempt to induce the corporation to assign a property at 6 Jalan Lembah Kallang to Skyline Investment Management.

• Authorities also updated the scale of asset measures in the wider Prince Holding Group investigation.

• Since June 2026, police have issued additional prohibition-of-disposal orders against 14 properties and seized various bank and securities accounts, with a combined estimated value of about S$100 million. This brings the total value of assets seized and/or made subject to prohibition of disposal orders in relation to the group to more than S$700 million to date.

• The developments form part of a broader multi-jurisdictional response to Prince Holding Group. The group was designated a transnational criminal organisation by the United States in 2025 and sanctioned by the US and UK; Singapore conducted island-wide operations in October 2025.

• Chen Zhi was extradited from Cambodia to China earlier in 2026. Regional authorities, including those in Hong Kong, have taken separate asset-freezing actions linked to him and his associates.

Key sources

• Singapore Police Force statement, 5 November 2026: https://www.police.gov.sg/Media-Hub/News/2026/11/20261105_singaporean_linked_to_transnational_scam_syndicate_prince_holding_group

• Channel NewsAsia, 6 November 2026: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/prince-holding-group-woman-charged-6529261

• The Straits Times, 6 November 2026: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/woman-allegedly-linked-to-transnational-scam-syndicate-prince-holding-group-charged