In a landmark action against transnational cybercrime and human trafficking, US and UK authorities have executed a coordinated crackdown that resulted in the seizure of approximately 127,000 Bitcoin, valued at an estimated $15 billion, and the indictment of the alleged mastermind behind a sprawling Southeast Asian fraud network.
The colossal haul, which the US Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed as the largest financial forfeiture action in its history, is linked to a sophisticated criminal enterprise that allegedly used forced-labour compounds in Cambodia to run massive online scams, including “pig butchering” crypto-investment fraud.
The Fugitive Conglomerate Chairman
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed an indictment on Tuesday charging Chen Zhi, the 38-year-old chairman of the multibillion-dollar Cambodian conglomerate Prince Holding Group, with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Chen, a dual UK and Cambodian national, remains at large.
The indictment paints a chilling picture of an operation built on deception and cruelty. Prosecutors allege that Chen’s organization trafficked hundreds of workers, holding them captive in prison-like compounds in Cambodia, surrounded by high walls and barbed wire. These workers were allegedly forced to execute the scams on an industrial scale, cultivating online relationships with victims across the globe before convincing them to transfer life savings into fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms.
“The rapid rise of transnational fraud has cost American citizens billions of dollars, with life savings wiped out in minutes,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement. The US Treasury Department estimates that Americans lost over $10 billion to Southeast Asian scammers in 2024 alone.
Sanctions and Seized Luxury Assets
The coordinated effort saw the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) impose sweeping sanctions on the Prince Group, which the Treasury has formally designated a transnational criminal organization.
In London, British officials announced the freezing of several high-value assets belonging to Chen and his associates. These are believed to include an opulent mansion on Avenue Road—one of the city’s most exclusive addresses—and a major office block in the heart of the City of London’s financial district.
US prosecutors detailed the lavish lifestyle funded by the fraud, stating that Chen and his co-conspirators spent stolen funds on luxury travel, yachts, private jets, high-end collectibles, and a Picasso painting acquired through a New York auction house. The massive Bitcoin seizure represents the digital lifeblood of this empire.
A Blow Against ‘Pig Butchering’
The “pig butchering” scams, so-named because the criminals “fatten” the victim with romantic or friendly conversation before the financial “butchery,” are a growing global threat. The scale of the forfeiture—$15 billion—sends a clear signal that law enforcement is dramatically increasing its capability to trace and seize illicit digital assets.
FBI Director Kash Patel hailed the operation as one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history, underscoring the severity of the alleged crimes, which include documented evidence of violence against the trafficked workers.
With Chen Zhi remaining a fugitive, the focus now shifts to an international manhunt and the potential use of the seized Bitcoin to compensate the thousands of victims defrauded by one of Asia’s largest alleged criminal syndicates. The coordinated strike by the US and UK is being hailed by analysts as a pivotal moment in the global fight against crypto-enabled organized crime.