The United States and United Kingdom have launched an unprecedented crackdown on a sprawling Southeast Asian crime syndicate accused of orchestrating one of the largest cryptocurrency and human trafficking scams ever exposed, targeting the Cambodia-based Prince Group and its elusive chairman, Chen Zhi. The actions, announced on October 14 and 15, 2025, mark the largest forfeiture and sanctions effort in the region’s history, with authorities seizing nearly $15 billion in Bitcoin and freezing luxury assets linked to the scheme.
According to statements from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Justice Department, Prince Group—ostensibly a legitimate conglomerate with interests in real estate, banking, and financial services across more than 30 countries—was, in reality, the operational hub of a vast network of forced labor camps and cyber scam centers. These centers, primarily in Cambodia and Myanmar, exploited trafficked workers to run so-called “pig butchering” scams that have defrauded thousands of victims worldwide, mostly through bogus cryptocurrency investment schemes.
In the words of U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi: “Today’s action represents one of the most significant strikes ever against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-enabled financial fraud.” She added that dismantling this criminal empire sends a clear message: “The United States will use every tool at its disposal to defend victims, recover stolen assets, and bring to justice those who exploit the vulnerable for profit.”
The U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging Chen Zhi—also known as Vincent, a 37-year-old Chinese-Cambodian tycoon—with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. If convicted, Chen faces up to 40 years in prison. However, he remains at large, reportedly holding several passports and maintaining deep connections with political elites in Cambodia and beyond.
The Prince Group’s scam operations, as detailed by prosecutors and reported by outlets including CNN and NPR, relied on a chillingly systematic approach. Workers, many of them Chinese nationals, were lured by fake job ads, only to find themselves trapped in compounds surrounded by high walls and barbed wire. Inside, they were forced—under threat of violence and torture—to operate phone farms using 1,250 mobile phones controlling 76,000 social media accounts. Their task: to build relationships with unsuspecting victims, often through romance or friendship scams, and convince them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms. These scams, dubbed “pig butchering” for the way victims are slowly groomed before being financially slaughtered, have caused billions in losses globally.
Prosecutors allege that Chen and his associates used the proceeds to finance a lavish lifestyle, purchasing luxury yachts, private jets, vacation homes, and even a Picasso painting at a New York auction house. At the height of the operation in 2018, the Prince Group was reportedly earning over $30 million a day from fraudulent schemes—a staggering figure that underscores the scale of the criminal enterprise.
The U.S. government’s seizure of 127,271 Bitcoin—valued at nearly $15 billion at the time of confiscation—represents the largest forfeiture action in Justice Department history, far eclipsing previous records. The cryptocurrency was allegedly stored in wallets personally controlled by Chen, and the seizure is seen as a major blow to the syndicate’s financial infrastructure.
Alongside the criminal indictment, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization and sanctioned 146 individuals and entities linked to the network. The UK followed suit, imposing sanctions on six entities and individuals and freezing 19 London properties worth over 100 million pounds (about $134 million) tied to the syndicate.
British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper was blunt in her assessment: “The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money.”
Jacob Daniel Sims, a transnational crime expert at Harvard University’s Asia Center, told The Associated Press that Prince Group was “an essential part of the scaffolding that makes global cyber-scamming possible.” He described Chen as “a central pillar of the criminal economy intertwined with Cambodia’s ruling regime,” noting his advisory roles to Prime Minister Hun Manet and former Prime Minister Hun Sen. Sims emphasized that while indictments and sanctions may not immediately dismantle such networks, they “fundamentally change the risk calculus,” making global banks, real estate firms, and investors think twice before engaging with Cambodian elite money.
The scale of human suffering behind the numbers is staggering. The United Nations estimated in 2023 that about 100,000 people were being forced to carry out online scams in Cambodia, at least 120,000 in Myanmar, and tens of thousands more in Thailand, Laos, and the Philippines. Many of these workers endure appalling conditions, facing physical abuse, and are often unable to escape due to threats or confiscation of their passports.
The Prince Group’s ability to operate with impunity for years was reportedly aided by political influence and systematic bribery. According to the indictment, Chen and his co-conspirators paid off officials in China and elsewhere to avoid investigations, even purchasing a $3 million yacht for a senior foreign official in 2019. Chen kept detailed ledgers of bribes and allegedly issued instructions regarding the treatment of forced laborers, including orders not to “beat [victims] to death.”
Despite the sweeping enforcement actions, experts caution that the fight against such criminal networks is far from over. Jason Tower, a senior analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, told NPR, “The sanctions combined with the U.S. indictment and the U.K. seizures send a strong signal to the Chinese crime groups and to the corrupt elites and armed actors openly backing them in Cambodia, Myanmar and beyond that this form of criminal activity will no longer be tolerated.” Yet, he warned, these organizations have proven highly adaptable, shifting tactics in response to previous crackdowns by using satellite internet, solar power, and new online payment channels.
Law enforcement officials urge the public to remain vigilant. Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, told CNN that the scams are rampant and that the FBI is focusing on the biggest cases to “cut off the head of the snake.” He cautioned, “It’s just not a good decision, especially in this day and age with social media and everybody on the Internet portraying themselves to be somebody they’re not.”
As the investigation continues and the world watches, the Prince Group case stands as a stark warning about the dangers of online investment scams and the human costs of unchecked cybercrime. With billions recovered and the criminal syndicate’s operations exposed, authorities hope this landmark action will deter future abuses and bring some measure of justice to the countless victims left in the wake of this global scam empire.
