US, UK sanction major Southeast Asian crypto scam network
The United States and United Kingdom have imposed sweeping sanctions on a Southeast Asia-based crime network responsible for operating a chain of “scam centres” across Cambodia, Myanmar, and the wider region. The network exploited trafficked workers to defraud people worldwide through fake cryptocurrency investments.
The US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday what it called the largest action ever in Southeast Asia, targeting 146 individuals linked to the Cambodia-based Prince Group, which it officially designated a transnational criminal organisation, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
The UK also sanctioned six entities and individuals associated with the Prince Group, freezing 19 London properties valued at over £100 million ($134 million) connected to the network.
“Today’s action represents one of the most significant strikes ever against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-enabled financial fraud,” said US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Federal prosecutors in the US unsealed an indictment charging Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, the 37-year-old chair of the Prince Group, with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Chen, also known as Vincent, remains at large and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
In a historic move, the US Justice Department also filed the largest forfeiture action in its history against the group, seizing Bitcoin worth over $14 billion at current market prices.
Chen was described by Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg as the “mastermind behind a sprawling cyberfraud empire,” with US Attorney Joseph Nocella calling it “one of the largest investment fraud operations in history.”
The Prince Group allegedly ran a network of purpose-built scam centres, functioning as forced labour camps across Cambodia, Myanmar, and other regional countries. Many workers, primarily Chinese, were lured with fake job advertisements, then held against their will and coerced under threat of torture to conduct online fraud targeting global victims.
The so-called “pig-butchering” scams involved trafficked workers establishing fake online romantic relationships with victims, persuading them to invest large sums in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms.
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