A sprawling conglomerate that has risen to become one of Cambodia’s most ambitious real estate players is now at the center of allegations linking it to a vast criminal network spanning cyber fraud, illegal gambling, and drug trafficking.
The company, known as Lixin Group, was founded by Taiwanese businessman Hsu Ming-chao. It has transformed from a single high-rise project in Phnom Penh into a massive enterprise claiming ownership of 35 million square meters of land, with plans to construct an entirely new city in the country’s southwest.
But mounting evidence suggests that behind its rapid expansion lies a more sinister web of activity.
A confidential United Nations report from April 2025, obtained by investigative journalists, identified a “major Mekong-based criminal enterprise” under the code name “Business Group 2.” Multiple sources familiar with the report have confirmed that this refers to Lixin Group. The document described the network’s involvement in land-based and online gambling, extensive cyber-enabled fraud, and large-scale drug trafficking.
In response, a Lixin representative said the company was unaware of the U.N. findings and firmly denied any involvement in illegal activities.
Chinese court records, previously unreported, provide further detail. Two judgments describe a fraud operation run by an entity called “Lixin” in Cambodia. Victims were lured through social media into fake investment and gambling schemes, with losses totaling approximately 10 million RMB ($1.4 million). The court found 16 former Lixin employees guilty of telecommunications fraud, describing the operation as a “foreign fraud syndicate” that used a property department to funnel illicit profits into Cambodian real estate—an effort to legitimize criminal proceeds.
The company’s legal team has rejected the allegations, asserting that the court cases have no connection to Lixin Group.
One of the key assets linked to the group is the WM Hotel & Casino in Sihanoukville, launched in 2017. Despite a 2019 government ban on online gambling, reporters found that at least nine online gambling platforms using WM’s branding remained active as of late 2025. Although Lixin lawyers said Hsu Ming-chao exited the casino investment in 2019, trademark applications for the WM brand were filed by a company he controls in July 2020.
When journalists visited Sihanoukville in 2024 and 2025, they observed an online casino still operating in what was once the WM Hotel. Workers dressed in branded uniforms were seen entering and exiting the building, and a review of the casino app showed the same dealers still working months later.
Beyond the casino, Lixin’s most ambitious venture is the development of Sihanoukville New City—a 2,500-hectare metropolis modeled after China’s Shenzhen. The project involves a close relative of Cambodia’s political leadership, and promotional materials promise a business district, hotels, casinos, a golf course, and a theme park. While construction is underway, questions remain about the source of the investment funding.
As the region grapples with the aftermath of a gambling crackdown and a Chinese travel ban, Sihanoukville itself has become a ghost of its former boomtown self. Yet Lixin is pushing forward, banking on a future that critics say is built on the proceeds of exploitation and crime.