In a landmark international law enforcement operation, authorities from the United States and United Kingdom have dismantled a massive transnational criminal enterprise, seizing nearly 130,000 Bitcoin valued at approximately $15 billion at the time of announcement. This historic action targets the alleged operators of numerous forced labor scam compounds across Cambodia responsible for what officials describe as “one of the largest investment fraud operations in history.”
The Unprecedented Scale of the Operation
The coordinated crackdown represents the largest cryptocurrency seizure in US history, dwarfing previous enforcement actions against illicit digital asset operations. According to the US Department of Justice, the nearly 130,000 Bitcoin was confiscated from accounts and wallets controlled by the alleged criminal network. The operation involved multiple agencies including the FBI and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which announced comprehensive financial sanctions against 146 individuals and entities linked to the newly designated Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization.
This massive enforcement action comes as pig butchering scams have reached epidemic proportions globally, with criminals using sophisticated psychological manipulation techniques to defraud victims of billions. The term “pig butchering” refers to the practice of fattening victims with false romantic or investment promises before slaughtering them financially.
The Cambodian Criminal Empire Exposed
At the center of this sprawling criminal network sits the Prince Holding Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate that publicly presents itself as a legitimate business involved in real estate development and financial services. However, according to detailed allegations from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the organization operated “in secret” as one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal enterprises.
The Department of Justice alleges that chairman and CEO Chen Zhi and his associates built an empire of at least 10 scam compounds across Cambodia, where hundreds of thousands of human trafficking victims were forced to operate sophisticated fraud schemes. These modern slavery operations specifically targeted vulnerable individuals worldwide through romance and investment scams, generating billions in illicit profits that were then laundered through cryptocurrency and international real estate investments.
International Coordination and Sanctions
The unprecedented action demonstrates remarkable coordination between US and UK authorities, with both nations implementing simultaneous sanctions and asset freezes. The Treasury Department’s sanctions announcement specifically targets Chen Zhi, the Prince Group, and numerous shell companies and associates allegedly involved in the criminal enterprise. Meanwhile, the UK government’s coordinated action has frozen substantial assets in London, including a £12 million North London mansion and a £100 million office building in the City of London allegedly purchased with criminal proceeds.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasized the global nature of the threat, stating that “the masterminds behind these horrific scam centers are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money.” The international response highlights how criminal organizations have exploited global financial systems and jurisdictional boundaries to conceal their operations and profits.
The Human Cost of Pig Butchering Scams
Behind the staggering financial figures lies an even more disturbing human tragedy. The so-called confidence tricks operated from these Cambodian compounds represent a dual-layer criminal enterprise: first trafficking vulnerable workers, then forcing them to perpetrate sophisticated financial fraud against global victims. The term “pig butchering” itself reflects the callous nature of these operations, where victims are psychologically “fattened” through fake romantic relationships or investment opportunities before being financially slaughtered.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, underscored the devastating impact: “Prince Group’s investment scams have caused billions of dollars in losses and untold misery to victims around the world.” The human trafficking aspect adds another dimension of cruelty, with forced laborers themselves becoming victims of the very criminal enterprise they’re compelled to operate.
Ongoing Investigation and Global Implications
Despite the massive seizure and sanctions, the investigation remains active, with Chen Zhi still at large according to Department of Justice statements. The scale of the operation suggests authorities have been building their case for years, tracing cryptocurrency transactions and following money trails across international borders. The record-breaking Bitcoin seizure demonstrates law enforcement’s increasing sophistication in tracking and recovering digital assets, even as criminals attempt to use cryptocurrency’s perceived anonymity to conceal their activities.
The case also highlights the evolving nature of transnational crime in the digital age, where criminal organizations operate sophisticated technological infrastructure alongside traditional human trafficking and money laundering operations. As authorities continue to pursue the remaining principals of the alleged criminal enterprise, this landmark action sends a clear message that international law enforcement coordination can effectively target even the most sophisticated digital-age criminal networks.
