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Wednesday, October 15, 2025
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Cambodia’s ‘Prince Group’ Accused of Global Cybercrime with Links to Laos

This Week

Laotian Times/AFP – On 14 October, US authorities unsealed an indictment against Chen Zhi, a UK-Cambodian businessman accused of running forced labor camps in Cambodia where trafficked workers carried out cryptocurrency fraud schemes that netted billions of dollars.

The 37-year-old, known as Vincent, founded Prince Holding Group, a multinational conglomerate that authorities say served as a front for “one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal organizations,” according to the US Department of Justice.

The Justice Department also filed the largest forfeiture action in its history, seizing approximately 127,271 Bitcoin worth around USD 15 billion at current prices.

“Today’s action represents one of the most significant strikes ever against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-enabled financial fraud,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Chen allegedly directed operations of forced labor compounds across Cambodia where hundreds of trafficked workers were held in prison-like facilities surrounded by high walls and barbed wire.

Under threat of violence, they were forced to execute so-called “pig butchering” scams — cryptocurrency investment schemes that build trust with victims over time before stealing their funds.

The schemes targeted victims worldwide, causing billions in losses.

Scam centers across Cambodia, Myanmar and the region use fake job ads to attract foreign nationals — many of them Chinese — to purpose-built compounds, where they are forced to carry out online fraud under threat of torture.

Since around 2015, Prince Group has operated across more than 30 countries under the guise of legitimate real estate, financial services and consumer businesses, prosecutors said.

Chen and top executives allegedly used political influence and bribed officials in multiple countries to protect the operation.

Proceeds were laundered in part through the Prince Group’s own gambling and cryptocurrency mining operations.

The stolen funds financed luxury purchases including watches, yachts, private jets, vacation homes and a Picasso painting bought at a New York auction house, authorities said.

Chen faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges.

In coordinated action, British authorities on Tuesday froze 19 London properties worth over GBP 100 million linked to Chen’s network, including a GBP 12 million mansion in North London.

The sanctions also target Chen’s associate Qiu Wei Ren, a Chinese national with Cambodian, Cypriot and Hong Kong citizenship.

An AFP investigation on Tuesday found that scam centers in neighboring Myanmar were expanding rapidly just months after a crackdown there.

China, Thailand and Myanmar forced pro-junta Myanmar militias who protect the centers to promise to shutter the compounds in February, freeing around 7,000 people — most of them Chinese citizens.

But the brutal call center-style system is flourishing again in Myanmar, now using Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system for internet access.

Laos Connection

The Prince Group’s reach extends into Laos through Warp Data Technology Lao Sole Co., a bitcoin mining venture.

According to U.S. and Cambodian authorities, this operation has facilitated movement of cryptocurrency tied to Prince Group’s criminal proceeds. 

Despite this, Prince Holding Group also made a USD 1 million donation to Laos’ COVID-19 countermeasures on 30 October 2021, demonstrating a mix of philanthropy and illicit activity.

The Prince Group has also expanded operations to Palau, working with local facilitator Rose Wang to lease Ngerbelas Island for a luxury resort. 

Reports suggest the conglomerate engages in money laundering, sextortion, forced labor, and even murder, including the killing of a Chinese national, Yi Ming Dali, in 2023.

Chen Zhi remains at large, and if convicted, faces up to 40 years in prison. U.S. and U.K. authorities warn that anyone facilitating transactions with sanctioned entities may themselves face penalties.

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