On the coastline of Timor-Leste, one of the world’s poorest nations, a futuristic vision of luxury was promised: the AB Digital Technology Resort. Promotional materials pitched a sprawling development of opulent villas and a world-first “crypto resort” where the global tech elite could congregate. However, a visit to the proposed site in Tasi Tolu, Dili, reveals a starkly different reality—an empty plot of land dotted with shrubs and separated from the airport by a barbed-wire fence.
The project is now at the center of a complex web of alleged links to the Cambodia-based Prince Group, a multibillion-dollar network sanctioned by the US Treasury in October 2025. US authorities allege the conglomerate operated industrial-scale “pig-butchering” scam compounds reliant on human trafficking and forced labor to defraud victims worldwide. While the AB network itself is not accused of criminality, the discovery of sanctioned individuals within the resort’s inner circle has raised alarms about the infiltration of transnational crime syndicates into the young Pacific nation.
The intersection of private jets, diplomatic passports, and unbuilt resorts highlights a perilous moment for Timor-Leste. With the legalisation of offshore online gambling in April 2024, the country has become an attractive target for investors. But as the UN warned in September 2025, this openness risks turning the nation into a haven for organized crime groups looking for vulnerable novel territories.
The Sanctioned Circle and the Prince Group
The connection between the AB resort and the sanctioned “scam empire” centers on three individuals: Yang Jian, Yang Yanming, and Shih Ting-yu. All three were sanctioned by US authorities in October 2025 for their alleged involvement in a separate luxury resort project in Palau, which US officials claim was controlled by Prince Group founder Chen Zhi.
Yang Jian was listed as the majority shareholder of the AB Digital Technology Resort LDA when it was registered in June 2025. Business records show he was removed from the project just days after the US sanctions were announced. Yang Yanming and Shih Ting-yu were also hired for the Timor-Leste project but were let move following the sanctions. Yang Yanming has denied any association with the Prince Group, describing his interactions with Chen Zhi as casual dinners and conversations about cigars.
The scale of the Prince Group’s alleged operations is vast. US authorities indicted Chen Zhi for wire fraud and money laundering, resulting in the seizure of billions of dollars in bitcoin. In January 2026, Chen was extradited to China in a high-profile operation involving black-clad SWAT officers. While the Prince Group has denied these allegations, calling them baseless attempts to seize assets, the US Treasury continues to maintain that the group ran compounds based on modern-day slavery.
Diplomatic Passports and the ‘Face’ of AB
Central to the project’s presence in Dili is Lin Xiaofan, known locally as “Frank.” A Guangdong-born businessman who frequently travels via private jet, Lin presented himself as a representative of the AB Charity Foundation. While Lin is not sanctioned and is not accused of any criminality, his influence within the Timorese government was significant.
President José Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, granted Lin a diplomatic passport and the title of special adviser to the president on economic and commercial affairs. The president stated that the passport was a matter of “prestige” intended to attract investment. While Ramos-Horta initially suggested the passport was for a short term, records show it is valid until July 2030.
Lin’s relationship with the president was bolstered by donations. The AB Charity Foundation reportedly donated $500,000 to the president’s scholarship program, as well as laptops and desktops for university students. However, these donations have created contradictions: Bertie Ahern, the former Taoiseach of Ireland and chairman of the AB Foundation in Ireland, told investigators he knew nothing of these donations and that the organization had made no payments.
A Labyrinth of Entities
The corporate structure behind the resort is a confusing array of “AB” entities, many of which lack legal status. The ecosystem includes:
- AB DAO: A decentralized autonomous organization described as a community group, not a legal entity.
- AB Chain: An open-source blockchain network.
- AB Foundation (Ireland): A proposed not-for-profit entity.
- AB Foundation (Cayman Islands): A company that reportedly supports AB DAO’s projects.
A memorandum of understanding was signed last year between AB DAO, the Irish foundation, and the Timorese resort company, stipulating that 5% to 10% of profits would go to the Irish entity. This agreement was formally terminated on November 27, 2025, after the US sanctions were imposed. Following inquiries into the project, promotional materials and team pages were deleted from the AB website.
Timor-Leste at a Crossroads
The potential for the country to become a “criminal state possessed by foreign mafia” was articulated in a blistering manifesto by Ágio Pereira, the minister of the presidency of the council of ministers. Pereira warned that “suitcases full of dirty money” were entering the country and that Timor-Leste risked becoming an “amusement park for transnational crime syndicates.”
This fear is echoed by regional experts. Michael Leach, a professor at Swinburne University of Technology, noted that neighboring states becoming havens for international crime is a worst-case scenario for regional stability, particularly for Australia, located just 700km away.
President Ramos-Horta has acknowledged his doubts, admitting he warned Lin not to “play games” with him. He questioned whether the project was a legitimate resort or a front to “wash money.” Despite these concerns, the president stated he wished to provide Lin the benefit of the doubt, noting that other business contacts in Singapore described him as genuine.
As the government considers requests from civil society leaders to cancel all diplomatic passports issued to non-citizens and launch an independent international investigation, the beachfront land in Tasi Tolu remains empty. The next critical checkpoint will be the government’s response to the formal request for a review of non-citizen diplomatic credentials.
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