Chen Zhi, the founder of the “Prince Group”, a business giant with dual citizenship in the UK and Cambodia, was officially prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly plotting a multinational cryptocurrency scam involving forced labor. At the same time, the U.S. government announced the seizure of approximately 12,7271 Bitcoins worth as much as $15 billion (approximately RMB 10,6 billion).
The U.S. Department of Justice said it was the largest confiscation in the industry’s history.
The largest confiscation in history
US Justice Department confiscates nearly 130,000 bitcoins
In an indictment filed on October 8 and unsealed on October 14, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Chen Zhi of being behind the "huge online fraud empire." He faces multiple conspiracy charges, including wire fraud and money laundering, and if convicted carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondy called the operation “one of the biggest strikes on global human trafficking and cyber financial fraud” and said it was aimed at “destroying this criminal empire based on forced labor and deception.”
The Prince of Cambodia group claims to be a real estate, financial and consumer services company operating in more than 30 countries, but the U.S. Department of Justice accuses it of being one of the largest multinational crime organizations in Asia.
Court documents disclosed by U.S. prosecutors show that Chen Zhi and his gang built and operated at least ten parks across Cambodia dedicated to fraud. These parks are like prisons, holding workers lured in by false work promises and forcing them to defraud victims around the world through threats of violence and torture.
"Mobile Farm" manipulates 76,000 accounts
Internal lesson: when lying is like not choosing too beautiful
The method of fraud is called "pig butchering scampig". According to court documents, its operation scale is huge: gang members set up so-called "mobile phone farms", of which only two dens have 1,250 mobile phones and control about 76,000 social media accounts.
They contacted victims through the network, using phrases and false investment profit promises, inducing each other to transfer cryptocurrencies to specified accounts. An internal document in the group even taught employees how to build trust with the victims and advised not to headline with “too beautiful” women’s photos to look more real.
The U.S. Department of Justice pointed out that the huge amount of money obtained from fraud was laundered by Chen Zhi and his accomplices through complicated "dispersion" and "collection" methods, and used for extremely luxurious personal enjoyment, including luxury travel, expensive watches and private jets. Chen Zhi also bought a Picasso painting from an auction house in new york.
Sued by the United States
His 19 properties in London were frozen
The British government announced that it had imposed severe sanctions on Chen Zhi and his criminal network, freezing his huge assets in the UK, including 19 properties in London. Among them, an office building in central London is worth nearly 100 million pounds, and another mansion in North London is worth 12 million pounds.
British Foreign Minister Evelyn Cooper said the people were “destroying the lives of vulnerable groups and buying property in London to store their dirty money.”
Along with the Cambodian “Prince Group”, there are also four other Cambodian companies suspected of fraud, including the Kimbe Group, located in the western port of Cambodia. Earlier this year, Amnesty International in a report that the company’s center of fraud operates for forced labor and torture.
The U.S. Department of Justice pointed out that Chen Zhi is still at large and his whereabouts are unknown. The FBI is conducting an in-depth investigation into the case.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said in a press release: “The rapid spread of transnational fraud has caused U.S. citizens to lose billions of dollars, and their lifetime savings are destroyed in minutes.
Source: Red Star Journalist