Sanctions hit Cambodia’s Prince Group over casino-linked crypto laundering and trafficking

The United States and the United Kingdom have jointly sanctioned Cambodia’s Prince Group and its chairman, Chen Zhi, over alleged large-scale online scams, money laundering, and human trafficking across Southeast Asia, according to reports.

Officials said the coordinated move is the largest joint action against cybercriminal networks in the region.

The UK’s Home Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) announced on October 14 that Chen’s assets in Britain— including a £12 million ($16 million) mansion and a £100 million ($133.5 million) London office building—were frozen.

In the US, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment charging Chen with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. A civil forfeiture complaint was also filed for 127,271 bitcoin—worth about $15 billion—allegedly tied to his operations. Chen remains at large.

The sanctions also cover affiliates Jin Bei Group, Golden Fortune Resorts World Ltd, and Byex Exchange. Jin Bei operates a hotel and casino in Sihanoukville, allegedly used for forced labor and fraud. Golden Fortune runs a compound near Phnom Penh, built by a Prince Group unit and disguised as a “technology park.” Byex Exchange is a crypto platform reportedly linked to both entities.

Investigations by the FCDO and the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) found that the Prince Group network ran “pig butchering” scams—fraudulent online investment schemes that lured victims through fake job ads. Workers were trafficked and forced to defraud people online across Cambodia, Myanmar, and neighboring countries.

“Scams often involve building online relationships to convince targets to ‘invest’ increasingly large sums of money into fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes,” the UK government said.

US officials said Jin Bei staff were implicated in extortion, forced labor, and murder, including the 2023 killing of a 25-year-old Chinese national. An FBI probe linked the group to at least $18 million in losses from American victims.

Prosecutors said Chen and his associates laundered funds through thousands of crypto wallets before converting proceeds into yachts, private jets, vacation homes, and art, including a Picasso painting.

Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said: “As alleged, the defendant was the mastermind behind a sprawling cyber-fraud empire operating under the Prince Group umbrella.”

The US Treasury also sanctioned Huione Group, accused of laundering $4 billion in illicit funds, including money tied to North Korean hackers. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) banned US banks from dealing with the group.

“The rapid rise of transnational fraud has cost American citizens billions of dollars,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“Together with our US allies, we are taking decisive action to combat the growing transnational threat posed by this network—upholding human rights, protecting British nationals, and keeping dirty money off our streets,” said UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

All assets of Chen, Prince Group, and affiliates in the US and UK have been frozen, and citizens of both countries are prohibited from conducting business with them.