Exposure of alleged ties between sanctioned ‘scam’ empire and luxury trappings in Timor-Leste

On a coastal plot in Timor-Leste, separated from Dili’s airport by a barbed-wire fence, the future was supposed to have broken ground. Promotional material from June last year enticed the global tech elite with visions of a sprawling, futuristic crypto resort—luxury villas overlooking aquamarine seas, a hub for digital innovation pledging a cut of profits to philanthropy. In February, the scene was an empty plot dotted with shrubs.

The Unravelling Web

This vacant land is the proposed site of the AB Digital Technology Resort, a project at the heart of a labyrinthine investigation into an obscure cryptocurrency network known as AB. What began as questions about an unusual development in one of the world’s poorest nations became a trail leading to a multibillion-dollar transnational network accused of industrial-scale crime.

The investigation uncovered that three individuals initially involved with the Timor-Leste resort—Yang Jian, Yang Yanming, and Shih Ting-yu—were sanctioned by U.S. authorities in October last year. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned them for their involvement in a separate luxury resort development in Palau that was allegedly controlled by Chen Zhi, the founder of the Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group. Prince Group itself was designated a transnational criminal organization by the U.S., accused of operating forced-labor scam compounds that used “pig-butchering” schemes to steal billions. Chen Zhi has been indicted by the U.S. for alleged wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, with the Department of Justice filing a historic civil forfeiture complaint for approximately 127,271 Bitcoin, valued at over $15 billion. Prince Group has denied all accusations, calling them baseless.

Business records from Timor-Leste show Yang Jian was listed as the majority shareholder of AB Digital Technology Resort LDA when it was registered in June. He was removed days after the U.S. sanctions were announced. Yang Yanming and Shih Ting-yu were hired for the project but let go following the sanctions. Contacted for comment, Shih confirmed she worked for Yang Yanming but denied any knowledge of the Timorese resort or connections to Prince Group. Yang Yanming said he was shocked by the sanctions, denied any illegal conduct or association with Prince Group, and stated his only interactions with Chen Zhi were casual dinners. The AB network itself is not accused of criminality.

A Nation’s “Perilous Crossroads”

The backdrop to this corporate intrigue is a nation on high alert. Timor-Leste, just 700km from Australia, legalised offshore online gambling in April last year, prompting an influx of investors. But by October, the government cancelled all existing licenses and suspended new applications, citing security concerns. The UN had issued a warning in September about unnamed “transnational organized crime groups” infiltrating via investment in Timorese companies.

This fear was crystallised in an extraordinary open letter from Ágio Pereira, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. He warned Timor-Leste risked becoming “an amusement park for transnational crime syndicates” and a “criminal state possessed by foreign mafia,” alleging “suitcases full of dirty money” were influencing the country. His warning followed a raid in August on a suspected scam operation in the remote Oecusse region, where over 30 foreigners were detained. The Oecusse Digital Centre, a free trade zone, has been identified as a target for criminal investment.

In November, Timorese civil society leaders wrote to Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, alarmed by claims crime networks had “infiltrated national institutions” and calling for a review of all diplomatic passports issued to non-citizens.

The Businessman and the Diplomatic Passport

Into this tense environment stepped Lin Xiaofan, known in Dili as “Frank”. Presenting himself as a representative of the “AB Charity Foundation” and an early Chinese internet entrepreneur, Lin became the face of the resort project. He cultivated a relationship with President José Ramos-Horta, a Nobel laureate, facilitating donations of laptops and vitamins which the president distributed. The president’s website lists donations from the AB Charity Foundation, including $500,000 to his scholarship program.

Impressed, President Ramos-Horta granted Lin a diplomatic passport in July, appointing him a special adviser on economic and commercial affairs. A Timorese source said granting such credentials to a businessman in a non-honorary consul role was “highly unusual.” The president said he did it because the status symbolised “prestige” for investors. The passport is valid until July 2030, though Ramos-Horta said he could cancel it at any time.

Lin’s name does not appear on the resort’s corporate registry or as a director of the Irish AB Foundation. He described himself as an “initiator” of the foundation and said his resort shares were held by a friend. He denied any wrongdoing or links to organised crime. Regarding Prince Group, Lin said he took a “courtesy ride” on a plane owned by Hu Xiaowei—a long-term Chen Zhi associate sanctioned by the UK under the name Chen Xiao’er—but didn’t know of his alleged connections. He called a dinner encounter with Chen Zhi in London “purely incidental.”

A Tangle of AB Entities

As inquiries were made, promotional material for the resort vanished from AB’s website, along with a supportive quote from a former Balkan president who later denied any knowledge of the project. The AB ecosystem is a complex web: AB DAO is a community organisation, AB Chain is an open-source blockchain network (which announced it would host the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency), and there are two foundations—one in Ireland and one in the Cayman Islands.

Bertie Ahern, former Irish Taoiseach, is co-director and chairman of the Irish AB Foundation. He denied the quote attributed to him about the resort, said he was unaware of any Timor-Leste plans or donations made in the foundation’s name, and stated it “has not commenced any operation or financial arrangements.” The other Irish foundation director, Wen Danjing, said it had no connection to Prince Group. Jacky Sui, a Chinese businessman and “initiator” of the AB ecosystem, said the Cayman entity supports AB DAO’s projects.

AB DAO, the Irish foundation, and the Timorese resort company had a memorandum of understanding, terminated on 27 November, which pledged 5-10% of resort profits to the foundation. Sui said the agreement was preliminary, no money changed hands, and any AB network involvement in the resort has been scrapped.

“Is it really a resort, or just talk?”

Back on the empty beachfront plot, children play soccer on the dirt. President Ramos-Horta revealed deep scepticism. “I think it was a bit in their imagination,” he said, noting Lin had never presented serious business plans. He acknowledged doubts, including when Lin offered him night-vision equipment and when he heard of the Prince Group allegations, but said he wanted to give the “benefit of the doubt.”

Months ago, the president warned Lin via an aide not to “play games.” Asked what he meant, Ramos-Horta said: “In the sense of, you know, lying about this resort. Because is [it] really a resort with clean money, or [for Prince Group] to wash money? Is [it] really a resort, or just talk?”

Lin stated the project was a “normal commercial activity” and he would never be involved in crime. President Ramos-Horta, who said he approached international investigators after learning of the allegations, vowed not to let the nation be exploited. “I lost brothers in the fight for independence,” he said. “I don’t want this country to be overrun by criminals.”