🔗 Share this article Who Is Chen Zhi and the Prince Group, Targeted by the United States and United Kingdom of Massive Scam Operations? The UK and United States have enforced measures on a multinational network based in Southeast Asia, allegedly running large-scale online scam operations that are believed to exploiting victims of human trafficking to defraud individuals globally. This industry has expanded in recent years, particularly in certain areas in Cambodia and Myanmar where hundreds of thousands have been duped by false job adverts and then coerced to commit internet scams, including fake relationship schemes, often under the menace of physical harm. The US treasury department stated it had taken what it described as the most significant measure to date in south-east Asia, focusing on over a hundred individuals connected to the so-called organization, which the United Kingdom also sanctioned. Those sanctioned include the head of the Prince group, the accused figure, as well as more than a dozen individuals linked with his commercial activities across south-east Asia and the Pacific. Understanding the Alleged Syndicate and Who is Chen Zhi? According to authoritative sources, the individual in question, 38, also known as “Vincent”, is the leader and establisher of Prince Holding Group (the group), a multinational business conglomerate headquartered in the Southeast Asian nation which, as per its online presence, is focused on “property investment, banking operations and retail offerings”. On October 14, American officials stated that the accused, who remains at large, had been indicted for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering conspiracy for directing Prince Group’s operation of fraud centers using coerced labor across the country. Chen’s rapid ascent to wealth has gained him significant political influence, including alleged consulting positions to Cambodia’s prime minister. The individual, a native of China from 1987, is believed to have acquired nationality in Vanuatu and Cyprus, and is also a Cambodian national. Why have They Been Sanctioned? The Department of Justice claimed people had been forcibly detained in the scam compounds connected to the syndicate and made to participate in a range of fraudulent schemes that defrauded billions of dollars from victims in the United States and worldwide. As part of the investigation into the leader, the United States and UK have seized $15bn (£11.3 billion) in bitcoin and blocked properties in London. The seized assets are thought to include a £12m residence on a prestigious street, one of London’s most expensive addresses, a £95m commercial building on a key financial avenue in the heart of the London's banking area, and multiple apartments in downtown London. “Now the Federal Bureau of Investigation and partners carried out one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in recorded time,” said the bureau's head Kash Patel in a announcement about the actions. Other Parties Are Implicated? According to the senior justice official, Chen was the alleged “chief architect behind a sprawling digital scam network functioning under the Prince Group umbrella”. He was placed on a American blacklist this October alongside over a dozen additional persons suspected of being participating in his commercial network. More than 100 business entities – based in multiple Asian jurisdictions and more – were also placed on a blacklist because of alleged links to the leader. Impact of the Sanctions Achieve? A representative from Cambodia's government told news agencies that the government would work together with foreign nations in the legal proceeding against the individual. “We do not shielding persons that break regulations,” he said. “However, this does not imply that we are accusing the group or its leader of engaging in illegal acts like the claims issued by the US or the UK.” Despite the historic set of penalties, analysts say the scam industry is still massive, with the UN calculating in 2023 that about 100,000 people were being compelled to carry out online scams in Cambodia, as well as at least 120,000 in the neighboring country and many thousands in Thailand, Laos and the Philippines. Given the widespread nature of the industry in several Southeast Asian nations, certain worry any arrests will leave a vacuum for additional global syndicates to take over.