The U.S. Department of the Treasury building. AP News.

The U.S. and British governments announced on the 14th (local time) that they have imposed sanctions on a criminal organization that operated illegal scam centers based in Cambodia and other regions, which were involved in defrauding victims worldwide and torturing trafficked workers.

As South Korea has recently been shocked by reports of criminals luring, detaining, and forcing young Koreans into committing crimes, torture, and even murder in Cambodia, it has been revealed that the U.S. and the U.K. have also been tracking similar organizations.

The targets of the sanctions include the "Prince Group" and its chairman, Chen Zhi. According to a statement from the British government, the Prince Group is a conglomerate with extensive business operations in Cambodia and elsewhere. Chen Zhi and the company are involved in the construction and operation of complexes used as casinos and scam centers, managed through proxies.

According to The Guardian, Chen Zhi was born in China in 1987 and is believed to have rapidly accumulated wealth, exerted political influence in Cambodia, and purchased citizenship in Cyprus and Vanuatu.

The "Jinbei Group," which operates leisure and entertainment businesses linked to the Prince Group, and the "Huione Exchange," a cryptocurrency platform associated with both the Jinbei and Prince groups, are also subject to the sanctions.

The British government also sanctioned "Golden Fortune Resorts World," describing it as the parent company behind a massive scam complex on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, which was built by a Prince Group subsidiary under the guise of a "technology park."

Chen Zhi and his associates reportedly used business entities in the British Virgin Islands to invest in the London real estate market. These assets include a 12 million pound (approximately 23 billion KRW) mansion in London, a 100 million pound (190 billion KRW) office building, and 17 apartments.

As a result of the sanctions, these business entities and properties will be immediately frozen, and Chen Zhi and his associates will be barred from using the British financial system.

The British government stated that scam centers in Southeast Asia, including those in Cambodia and Myanmar, use fake job advertisements to lure foreigners into enclosed casinos or specialized facilities, where they are threatened with torture and forced to engage in online fraud.

Fraudulent tactics include building rapport with targets to lure them into investing increasingly larger sums into sham cryptocurrency schemes. They reportedly launder these funds through seemingly legitimate businesses or online gambling platforms.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated, "Those behind these horrific scam centers are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up homes in London to hide their ill-gotten gains."

The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated the Prince Group as a "transnational criminal organization" and announced on the same day that it is implementing 146 sanctions related to the group, including Chairman Chen Zhi.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on the same day that it has indicted Chairman Chen Zhi on charges including online financial fraud and money laundering. While the defendant is not currently in custody, he has been referred for trial based on established criminal evidence; if convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison.

The Department of Justice also filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit to seize 127,271 bitcoins held by Chairman Chen Zhi, valued at approximately $15 billion (about 21 trillion KRW). The U.S. government currently holds these bitcoins in custody, marking the largest seizure in the history of the Department of Justice, according to officials.

Furthermore, along with the sanctions on the Prince Group, the U.S. Treasury Department finalized measures to cut off the Cambodia-based financial services conglomerate, Huione Group, from the U.S. financial system.

The Huione Group has spent years laundering cryptocurrency funds obtained by malicious cyber actors through fraud and theft, and has played a key role in laundering funds stolen by North Korea.

The Treasury Department stated that between August 2011 and January 2025, the Huione Group laundered at least $4 billion (5.7 trillion KRW) in illicit funds, of which $37 million involved cryptocurrency hacked by North Korea.

U.S. financial institutions are now prohibited from conducting any transactions involving the Huione Group.

Yonhap News