US and UK Lead Record Cybercrime Operation in Southeast Asia
The US and UK have carried out their largest joint action to date targeting cybercriminal networks operating across Southeast Asia.
The coordinated measures focus on groups accused of running large-scale online scams that have defrauded victims worldwide and laundered billions of dollars.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), working alongside the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), imposed sanctions and restrictions on entities linked to the Cambodia-based Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) and Huione Group, a financial conglomerate accused of laundering illicit funds.
“The rapid rise of transnational fraud has cost American citizens billions of dollars, with life savings wiped out in minutes,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the announcement. “Treasury is taking action to protect Americans by cracking down on foreign scammers. Working in close coordination with federal law enforcement and international partners like the United Kingdom, Treasury will continue to lead efforts to safeguard Americans from predatory criminals.”
Prince, pretenses, and pigs
OFAC sanctioned 146 individuals and entities tied to the Prince Group TCO, led by Cambodian national Chen Zhi. The group allegedly ran online investment scams targeting U.S. and international victims while laundering profits through shell companies across Asia. FinCEN, meanwhile, finalized a rule cutting Huione Group off from the U.S. financial system, citing its role in laundering more than $4 billion in virtual currency from scams and cyber heists, including funds linked to North Korea.
U.K. authorities also announced parallel sanctions on Prince Holding Group, Chen Zhi, and his associates. A criminal indictment against Chen was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Investigators say the Prince Group operated a web of companies that masked criminal operations, including scam compounds in Cambodia involving human trafficking, forced labor, and torture. Workers were reportedly lured under false pretenses, then forced to run “pig butchering” scams that defrauded victims through fake investment schemes.
Among the entities linked to the network is Jin Bei Group, a luxury hotel and casino operator accused of facilitating fraud, extortion, and murder. FBI investigations found U.S. victims lost millions to scams run through Jin Bei’s operations.
The Treasury also targeted Prince Group’s expansion in Palau, where it allegedly partnered with organized crime figures to build a luxury resort. Several Palau-based individuals and companies have now been sanctioned for supporting these ventures.
Under the sanctions, all property and assets of the designated individuals and entities within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting transactions with them, and foreign institutions risk penalties for facilitating such dealings.
Officials emphasized that these actions form part of a broader international crackdown on Southeast Asian cyberfraud networks that have grown into multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprises. Recent Treasury measures have also targeted similar actors in Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines.
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