The US authorities have charged Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi, chairman of Prince Holding Group, for allegedly working one of many largest cryptocurrency fraud operations in historical past.
The Justice Division seized over 127,000 bitcoins—price about $15 billion—and imposed sweeping sanctions and asset freezes concentrating on Chen’s huge enterprise community in a number of nations.
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US Indicts Chen Zhi Over World Crypto Rip-off
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn charged Chen Zhi with wire fraud and cash laundering conspiracy in reference to a years-long crypto funding rip-off. The US Division of Justice mentioned the operation used pressured labor to run “pig butchering” scams. These had been fraudulent crypto funding pitches that tricked victims into transferring digital property.
The Justice Division introduced the seizure of 127,271 bitcoins, the most important crypto forfeiture in US historical past. The seized tokens, valued at about $15 billion, had been saved in unhosted wallets. Prosecutors mentioned Chen and his associates managed them. The group allegedly used shell companies, on-line playing, and crypto mining to cover the funds’ origins.
In line with courtroom filings, employees had been trafficked and detained in compounds in Cambodia, the place they operated 1000’s of pretend social media profiles to lure buyers. Prosecutors mentioned Chen licensed violent enforcement measures to manage these employees. One of many compounds, linked to Prince Group’s on line casino operations, housed in depth “telephone farms” used for fraudulent messaging campaigns.
Chen, also referred to as Vincent, stays at giant. He faces as much as 40 years in jail if convicted.
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Treasury Sanctions Prince Holding Group and Freezes Property
The US Treasury Division designated Prince Holding Group as a transnational legal group, citing its central function in world on-line scams. The designation successfully bars US entities from doing enterprise with the conglomerate. UK authorities additionally froze over $172 million (£130 million) in property linked to Chen, together with a London property valued at $16 million(£12 million).
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned transnational crypto fraud “has value People billions, usually wiping out life financial savings inside minutes.” The sanctions lengthen to Prince Group’s actual property, monetary providers, and know-how subsidiaries, as authorities intention to stop the corporate from utilizing legit industries to hide legal exercise.
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Prosecutors mentioned the community moved illicit proceeds by means of a number of jurisdictions and invested in luxurious objects, together with non-public jets, yachts, and positive artwork. Court docket filings describe Chen’s internal circle as a small group of executives who oversaw operations throughout a minimum of 30 nations. A number of executives allegedly bribed international officers and facilitated crypto transactions supposed to bypass worldwide scrutiny.
The US Justice Division mentioned it could use the seized bitcoin to reimburse victims, which is pending courtroom approval.
Crypto-Linked Scams in Southeast Asia
The indictment underscores Southeast Asia’s rising presence within the world cyberfraud economic system. The United Nations estimates that greater than 100,000 individuals in Cambodia are pressured to hitch rip-off operations. Related legal networks additionally function in Myanmar, Laos, and the Philippines.
Consultants say Prince Holding Group’s enterprise empire was instrumental in scaling these scams internationally.
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Jacob Daniel Sims, a transnational crime researcher at Harvard College’s Asia Middle, mentioned the US motion “modifications the chance calculus” for buyers and banks coping with Cambodian elites. He added that the sanctions sign “a uncommon pushback in opposition to elite-driven cybercrime economies.”
Regardless of the fees, Prince Holding Group continues to explain itself as one in all Cambodia’s largest conglomerates, working over 100 actual property, finance, and tourism companies. Cambodian officers haven’t publicly commented on the case.
In line with a College of Texas examine, world losses from “pig butchering” scams exceeded $75 billion between 2020 and 2024. The FBI reported $5.8 billion in crypto funding fraud losses in 2024 alone.
Whereas the indictment is unlikely to dismantle the business instantly, it marks a major escalation in worldwide enforcement in opposition to crypto-enabled crime.