Cambodian forced-labour cyberfraud empire exposed

NEW YORK: The chairman of Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group was charged Tuesday by US authorities with running a “sprawling cyberfraud empire” that led to the seizure of bitcoin worth about $15 billion (approximately PKR 4.22 trillion) in what prosecutors called the largest ever forfeiture action, foreign media reported.

Chen Zhi, 38, who heads the Phnom Penh-based Prince Group, was charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, with engaging in a wire-fraud conspiracy and operating a money-laundering scheme. Chen’s operation allegedly used forced labour in Cambodia to emotionally manipulate thousands of victims in the US and around the world, fattening their accounts and then draining them in a practice known as “pig butchering.”

Such scams likely stole more than $75 billion (approximately PKR 21.08 trillion) from victims globally between January 2020 and February 2024, according to a study by a University of Texas at Austin finance professor last year. According to the FBI, cryptocurrency investment fraud caused more than $5.8 billion (approximately PKR 1.63 trillion) in reported losses in 2024 alone. “Prince Group’s investment scams have caused billions of dollars in losses and untold misery to victims around the world,” US Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a statement.

Chen, who was born in China but emigrated to Cambodia, is not in custody and remains at large. A lawyer for Chen could not be immediately identified. The Department of Justice also filed a related civil forfeiture complaint seizing 127,271 bitcoins, currently worth approximately $15 billion (approximately PKR 4.22 trillion), which the US said are proceeds of Chen’s fraud and money laundering schemes.

In a parallel move, the US Treasury Department designated the Cambodian conglomerate as a transnational criminal organisation for online scam operations that have victimised people across the US.

“The rapid rise of transnational fraud has cost American citizens billions of dollars, with life savings wiped out in minutes,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. UK authorities froze more than $172 million (approximately PKR 48.35 billion) of properties across London as part of the case.