LONDON/WASHINGTON—In a landmark coordinated effort, the United States and the United Kingdom have imposed sweeping sanctions and asset seizures against a vast transnational criminal network operating illegal online scam centers primarily based in Cambodia, along with a separate financial services giant implicated in laundering billions, including funds for North Korea's weapons programs.
The action, announced on October 14 (local time), targets the Prince Group, led by its chairman, Chen Zhi, for allegedly operating forced-labor cyber-scam compounds across Southeast Asia. These centers are accused of luring victims globally into fraudulent cryptocurrency and investment schemes—often referred to as "pig butchering" scams—while subjecting trafficked workers to torture and violence. The move comes amid growing alarm, particularly in countries like South Korea, over the shocking abuses tied to these scam operations.
The U.S. Treasury Department designated the Prince Group as a "Transnational Criminal Organization" and announced 146 sanctions against Chen Zhi and affiliated entities. Concurrently, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Chen Zhi and announced the historic seizure of approximately 127,271 Bitcoin, valued at about $15 billion, linked to the fraud and money laundering proceeds of the Prince Group's forced-labor scam compounds. This forfeiture is reported to be the largest in the Justice Department's history.
The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) also sanctioned Chen Zhi and related businesses, including the Jin Bei Group and Byex Exchange, with UK-held assets immediately frozen. These assets include a $textsterling$12 million London mansion, a $textsterling$100 million office building, and 17 apartments. Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper condemned the criminals, stating they were "ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money."
In a related but distinct action, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) finalized measures to sever the Cambodia-based financial services conglomerate Huione Group from the U.S. financial system. FinCEN identified Huione as a "primary money laundering concern" that facilitated the laundering of at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025. This included a crucial role in laundering at least $37 million in virtual currency stolen through North Korean state-sponsored cyber heists, thereby supporting Pyongyang's sanctioned weapons programs.
This joint crackdown marks the most significant coordinated action to date targeting the intertwined economy of online fraud, human trafficking, and cryptocurrency money laundering in Southeast Asia, aiming to disrupt the flow of dirty money and hold the orchestrators of these brutal schemes accountable.
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