From Meth Labs to Megaprojects: How a Wanted Criminal Built Power and Influence in Cambodia

Key Findings:

• Thomas Xu, born Hsu Ming-chin in Taiwan, fled his home country in 2013 after being convicted for manufacturing methamphetamine. He later adopted multiple new identities, obtained a Philippines passport, and secured Cambodian citizenship in 2019.
• Xu is suspected by police of financing a $364 million drug shipment to Japan linked to a major Asian drug trafficking network. (Xu hasn’t been charged with that crime)
• Xu’s brother Hsu Ming-chao built Lixin Group into a major real estate developer with projects including the CEO Center in Phnom Penh and the vast “Sihanoukville New City” development. Lixin has also expanded into Central Asia, where Xu has played a high-profile role. 
•  Lixin cultivated close ties with senior Cambodian political figures, including relatives of former Prime Minister Hun Sen.
•  Chinese court rulings describe scam operations in Cambodia run by an entity called “Lixin,” which siphoned proceeds into real estate investments.
• Despite Cambodia’s ban on online gambling, reporters found evidence that online casino activity linked to WM-branded platforms continued as late as 2025.
• Lawyers for Lixin deny any involvement in illegal activity and say the group exited online gambling after the ban and is not involved in fraud scams.

A Taiwanese man wanted for methamphetamine trafficking fled to Cambodia more than a decade ago, reinvented himself under new identities, and played a role alongside his brother in building a sprawling real estate empire.

Public records, court judgments, and United Nations reports show how Thomas Xu — born Hsu Ming-chin — and his family leveraged Cambodia’s citizenship system, regulatory gaps, and political connections to gain legitimacy and expand their business interests, while remaining beyond the reach of foreign law enforcement. What emerged was Lixin Group, a conglomerate run by Xu’s brother Hsu Ming-chao (aka Kevin Hsu) that presents itself as a major force in Cambodian development, controlling high-profile real estate projects and promoting a vision of new cities and megaprojects. But beneath its polished image lies a far more complicated story, one that links alleged transnational crime, fraud operations, and online gambling to Cambodia’s booming but weakly regulated economy.

Xu did not respond to queries from OCCRP but legal counsel for Lixin Group and his brother strongly denied any connection between Xu and Lixin.

“Mr Thomas Xu/Hsu Ming-chin is not involved in the business of any entity within the Lixin Group,” they said.

While Xu was identified repeatedly as Lixin’s chairman in the company’s promotional material and press releases in Cambodia, the lawyers dismissed them as “factually incorrect.” Xu also had a high-profile role for Lixin in the Central Asia country of Georgia, giving media interviews, attending Lixin events and popping up on social media. As in Cambodia, Xu was often described as Lixin Group’s chairman or founder.

Georgian media coverage of Thomas Xu. (Click to enlarge.) This article, which appeared on the Georgian site Primetime, was removed from the internet after OCCRP journalists reached out to Primetime to ask them about it. (James O’Brien/OCCRP)

He also kickstarted Lixin’s biggest investment in Georgia, twin spaceage skyscrapers in Georgia’s tourism and casino hub of Batumi. Xu purchased a stake in the development for $5.2 million, before selling it to his romantic partner for a small amount before she transferred it to Lixin chief executive Hsu Ming-chao for no cost.

Escape and Reinvention

In December 2013, Thomas Xu arrived in Cambodia after fleeing Taiwan, where he had been convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He had also received additional sentences for robbery and unlawful detention related to a kidnapping. Social media posts from that month show him visiting Angkorian temples and relaxing beside a swimming pool under bright blue skies — images that sharply contrasted with his legal status back home.

According to Taiwanese police files obtained by OCCRP partners, Xu escaped using forged identities. A police report from 2017 noted: “He fled to Cambodia using a forged passport and, along with his older brother Hsu Ming-chao, has been running real estate and other businesses there.”

In October 2018, Xu obtained a Philippines passport that bore his photograph but used the name Xu Dong Enriquez, falsely listing Quezon City as his birthplace. Using this identity, he secured Cambodian citizenship in 2019 and changed his name again, this time to Thomas Xu. With new papers and a new nationality, Xu was able to operate openly in Cambodia, establish companies, and invest in real estate, while remaining out of reach of Taiwanese law enforcement.

Building a Real Estate Empire

Xu’s brother, Hsu Ming-chao, first visited Cambodia in 2012 and was impressed by the country’s rapid growth and development potential. By 2015, companies linked to Hsu were being registered in Cambodia, including Lixin Construction Co. Ltd.

These firms later operated under the banner of Lixin Group, which, while not itself a legal entity, became the brand name for a network of Cambodian companies promoting major development projects through a sleek website and active social media presence. By 2017, just two years after registration, Lixin Construction announced its first flagship project: CEO Center, a 33-story luxury development in Phnom Penh. The project was launched with significant political fanfare.

Lixin’s initial partner was K T Pacific Group Ltd., chaired by Hong Suon, the wife of Cambodian tycoon Sy Kong Triv, who has longstanding connections to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An attended the project’s public launch.

The following year, the brothers broke ground on Sihanoukville New City, a massive project near Cambodia’s casino and tourist hub. Lixin described it as a bold vision to reshape Cambodia’s coastal development. Lixin now claims to control 35 million square meters of land and to be building an entirely new city in southwestern Cambodia.

Political Access and Legitimacy

The May 2018 groundbreaking ceremony for Lixin CEO Center was a glitzy occasion. Pop stars sang, two Chinese calligraphy works were presented and the Hsu brothers toasted their success surrounded by beauty queenshers.

Among the dignaitaries at the formal ceremony that day was Hun To, who stood between the Hsu brothers as the shovelled sand in  front of a red-and-gold ‘guardian pillar’ — a symbol of good luck in Chinese culture. 

Within 12 months, the Hun family scion would be a 25 percent shareholder and director in one of Lixin’s property development companies.   Among those in attendance was the business tycoon Ly Yong Phat and Hun To, the nephew of Cambodia’s prime minister at the time and an adviser to Hun Sen and his son, the current prime minister Hun Manet.

Hun Sen and his family have dominated Cambodia for four decades, and evidence shows that the Hsu brothers assiduously cultivated them. They made donations to the Cambodian Red Cross, run by Hun Sen’s wife.

In 2023, Lixin sponsored the publication of a laudatory biography of Hun Sen, launched at a lavish ceremony in Phnom Penh. On Facebook, Lixin said it was important to raise awareness of Hun Sen’s “legendary” story and added that the company was “intrinsically linked to the Cambodian government and people.”

The Cambodian government, Hun Sen, Hun To, Hong Suon, Sy Kong Triv, and Men Sam An did not respond to requests for comment.

Criminal Allegations and International Links

Despite cultivating a legitimate public persona in Cambodia, Xu remains wanted in Taiwan. He is also suspected by police in three countries of being behind a $364-million drug shipment in 2016 linked to the Sam Gor syndicate, one of Asia’s largest transnational drug networks.

According to Taiwan police files, Xu allegedly met the captain of the drug ship in Cambodia in January 2016 to organise  the shipment from Taiwan to Japan. The meth haul was intercepted by authorities on the Japanese island of Okinawa in May and the police file alleged that Xu  was the main financier of the operation.  

He has not been charged in that case, in part because Taiwan lacks diplomatic relations and an extradition treaty with Cambodia.

In April 2025, a UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report described a Cambodia-based real estate developer, codenamed “Business Group 2,”  as a “major Mekong-based criminal enterprise”.. Multiple sources involved in preparing the report confirmed “Business Group 2” was Lixin Group

Chinese Court Judgments and Scam Operations

Previously unreported Chinese court judgments obtained by VOD’s partner describe scam operations in Cambodia run by an entity called “Lixin.” According to the rulings, Chinese employees lured victims through social media and invited them into chat groups where accomplices posed as successful investors. Victims were persuaded to invest in bogus stock and cryptocurrency schemes, with their funds either siphoned off directly or frozen using fabricated excuses. Other victims were enticed into fake gambling platforms that were engineered to ensure they lost money after an initial winning streak.

Although Lixin has never been formally charged with cyber-fraud in Cambodia, lawyers deny any involvement in illegal activity.

Online Gambling After the Ban

Lixin Group was an early entrant into Cambodia’s casino industry, investing in 2017 in the WM Hotel & Casino in Sihavoukville. WM offered both in-person and online gambling.

Lixin’s legal counsel said Lixin exited the business shortly after  former Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a nationwide ban on online gambling in 2019. Reporters found evidence that Lixin continued after the ban.

Lixin applied to the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce to register trademarks for WM Casino, WM Hotel and Lixin Casino in July 2020, after his lawyers said he divested from the casino business. A Cambodian trademark holder has exclusive rights to use the name and logo, and can license it to others for payment, and stop unauthorized use of the brand. In subsequent correspondence with OCCRP, Lixin lawyers said the trademark applications were “made as part of our client’s overall business plan,” without going into further detail.

And reporters discovered at least nine online gambling websites and apps using WM branding or linking to WM-branded casinos as of November 2025. One WM app offered gambling in 11 languages.

When VOD reporters visited Sihanoukville in 2024 and 2025, they found evidence of an online casino operating inside the former WM Hotel & Casino building. Every hour, young women arrived by van, entering through a guarded side door. Hours later, journalists saw dealers wearing identical black-and-white dresses appearing in WM-branded gambling apps. A Cambodian woman working as a dealer said there were 50–60 live dealers and that she earned $600 per month plus free accommodation. In November 2025, reporters observed buses and SUVs transporting workers to the same compound, now marked “FODUNA CASINO.” No public entrance was visible, and nearby vendors and tuk-tuk drivers said walk-in gamblers were not allowed.

A New Sihanoukville?

Sihanoukville today is a shadow of its former self. The gambling crackdown and Chinese travel restrictions have emptied the city of tourists and workers. Half-built towers and rubble-strewn lots dominate the skyline. But Lixin is betting on a new future: a 2,500-hectare metropolis dubbed Sihanoukville New City. Corporate and government records show that Hun To is deeply involved. The firm Lixin Development, co-directed by Hun To and Hsu, is a major partner. The development includes a business district with skyscrapers, hotels, a logistics hub, a technology park, and expansive residential zones. For tourists, the project envisions casinos, eco-resorts, a top-quality golf course, a theme park, and a horse-racing track.

A Lixin promotional video describes the project as “a Cambodian version of Shenzhen.” In August 2019, Hsu said: “Lixin Group would like to thank Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian government for giving our group such a good opportunity.”