US Sanctions 45 Targets Tied to Prince Group Scam Empire

The United States Treasury Department has announced new financial sanctions targets spanning four individuals and forty-one entities. These designations focus on supporters of the Prince Group, a Cambodian conglomerate accused of operating scam compounds that rely on trafficked workers to steal money through romance and cryptocurrency investment frauds.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the measures to penalize offshore companies, administrators, and nominee owners. Treasury stated that these networks helped executives within the Prince Group conceal assets and bypass previous sanctions issued in late 2025 and mid-2026. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that cyber scam syndicates continue stealing billions from American victims while depending on international business networks to launder illicit funds.

Among the newly designated individuals is Qiu Yong, accused of overseeing British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong companies—including wine businesses and money lenders—for the conglomerate. His assistant, Zhao Mengyao, was also designated. OFAC further targeted individuals holding property or running firms alongside Prince Group executive Chen Bo, including his wife, He Yujing, and associate Visal Pang. Eleven companies linked to Chen Bo, alongside entities in Singapore, Mauritius, and Malaysia tied to associate Dai An, faced penalties.

Separately, Malaysian national Chui Kok Wa was designated for leading a scam network that defrauded Americans of over $400,000. Meanwhile, authorities in the UK previously froze a London penthouse belonging to alleged finance chief Thet Li, and the US is pursuing the forfeiture of roughly $14 billion in Bitcoin connected to the Prince Group.

US authorities sanctioned 45 entities and individuals linked to the Prince Group cryptocurrency scam empire.

Chairman Chen Zhi was arrested in Cambodia in January and extradited to China, where state media identified him as the leader of a cross-border fraud syndicate. Cambodia also revoked his citizenship and liquidated the group's Prince Bank. This latest coordinated action involved the FBI, the Justice Department, and international authorities.

Why it matters

This enforcement action targets the international financial infrastructure used by large-scale cyber scam syndicates to hide illegal proceeds. By penalizing offshore front companies, nominee owners, and associated businesses across multiple jurisdictions, global authorities aim to disrupt the flow of billions of dollars lost to cryptocurrency investment fraud and human trafficking networks.