Joint US-UK operation targets Chen Zhi’s criminal organization: 127,271 bitcoins confiscated and 146 entities sanctioned.
On October 14, US authorities announced one of the largest seizures ever in the digital asset sector, targeting a global network of online fraud and human trafficking that caused losses worth billions of dollars.
The coordinated action between the US Department of Justice, the US Treasury, and UK authorities focused on Prince Holding Group, a Cambodian conglomerate led by Chen Zhi, also known as Vincent, exposing a transnational criminal system operating in Asia.
Court documents filed in the US Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York reveal that US authorities seized 127,271 bitcoins held in wallets linked to Chen and his associates.
The Department of Justice described the organization as one of the most elaborate criminal operations in Asia, responsible for laundering billions of dollars through shell companies, mining activities, and exchanges around the world.
The “pig butchering” technique is a form of digital fraud: victims are seduced through trust-based relationships built over time, before being pushed to invest in fraudulent crypto trading platforms.
The criminal network behind the scam
Chen, a 38-year-old entrepreneur of Chinese origin who renounced his citizenship years ago, founded Prince Holding Group in 2015. Officially active in real estate, finance, and hospitality in more than thirty countries, the group turned out to be a front for systematic illegal activities.
According to prosecutors, the organization lured thousands of workers to Cambodia with false job promises, then trapped them in guarded compounds where they were forced to manage online scam operations.
Funds stolen from victims were routed through a network of over 100 shell companies worldwide, then converted into bitcoin via exchanges and mining operations, and finally deposited into wallets controlled by Chen and his associates.
Between May 2021 and August 2022, investigators traced at least $18 million from over 250 US victims, routed through fictitious entities operating in Brooklyn and Queens. However, this amount represents only a small fraction of the overall operation, which funneled billions of dollars to Cambodia.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) simultaneously imposed sanctions on 146 individuals and entities linked to Prince Group, classifying the network as a transnational criminal organization involved in fraud, extortion, and human trafficking.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) also targeted Huione Group, based in Cambodia, accusing it of laundering at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds, including funds from cyberattacks linked to North Korea.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that these measures represent a decisive action against the wave of online investment scams, which have caused total losses exceeding $16 billion for US citizens.
Bessent described the intervention as “a global response to a global crime,” highlighting the importance of cross-border intelligence sharing and collaboration with the UK, which also imposed sanctions on Chen and several Prince Holding Group affiliates.
The group’s operations extended across numerous compounds in Cambodia, including those operating under names such as Jin Bei Casino and Golden Fortune Resorts. US officials confirmed that these sites were linked to forced labor, extortion, and killings, with workers forced to run high-volume scams under constant surveillance and abuse.
The escalation of pig butchering scams
This operation is part of a series of international actions against “pig butchering” scams, so called because of the method of gaining victims’ trust before defrauding them.
Last August, Tether froze nearly $50 million in USDT connected to a Southeast Asian organization, collaborating with Chainalysis, Binance, OKX, and local law enforcement. That operation followed a 2023 case in which $225 million in USDT were seized in coordination with the US Secret Service.
According to official US data, losses from pig butchering scams surged to $3.6 billion in 2024, marking a 40% increase compared to the previous year.
