$15 billion in Bitcoins were embezzled! The "talker" of Asia's largest transnational electronic fraud is on the run

Nakamoto 2025-10-15 22:19 46429人围观 BTC

Source | Ifeng.com "Eye of the Storm" Beijing time on October 15, a piece of news from the US Department of Justice exposed transnational crimes. They formally filed criminal charges against Chen Zhi, the founder of the Cambodian Prince Group, on charges

Source | Ifeng.com "Eye of the Storm"

On October 15, Beijing time, a piece of news from the U.S. Department of Justice exposed transnational crimes.

They formally filed criminal charges against Chen Zhi, the founder of the Cambodian Prince Group, on charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

What is even more staggering is that this time the United States directly stole approximately 127,271 Bitcoins, which is a full US$15 billion based on the current market value, which is equivalent to approximately 106.9 billion yuan in RMB.

The U.S. Department of Justice said it was the largest seizure in the department's history.

01

Asia's largest transnational criminal organization "Talker"”

In Cambodia, Chen Zhi was once a well-known "person".

The 38-year-old, who goes by the English name "Vincent" and holds dual British and Cambodian nationality, claims to be a "business elite" engaged in real estate, finance and consumer services.

In July 2020, Chen Zhi (left), founder of Prince Group Holdings, took a photo with Hun Sen after he was awarded the Order of Oknar by then Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (right).

However, the indictment filed by the US prosecutors in the New York Federal Court on October 14 directly tore off his disguise - what kind of entrepreneur is this? He is clearly the "talker" of Asia's largest transnational criminal organization!

As early as 2015, Chen Zhi led the Prince Group to start its layout.

He has set up companies in more than 30 countries around the world. These companies appear to be operating in compliance with regulations, but in fact they are his "vest" to cover up his fraudulent activities.

Among them, the most heinous thing is the fraud park he controls in Cambodia, and its scale is quite large.

Prosecutors mentioned in court documents that the gang set up a "mobile phone farm" and stocked 1,250 mobile phones in just two dens and controlled 76,000 social media accounts.

These accounts are not used to create short videos, but are a stepping stone for fraud.

The gang members first contact the victim using social software or communication tools, and spend time asking questions and cultivating feelings. When the victim completely trusts them, they start to "draw the pie": "Transfer the cryptocurrency to this account, and you are guaranteed to make a lot of money!" ” But when the victim actually transferred the money, the account was immediately drained, including the principal and interest.

In Brooklyn, New York, Chen Zhi also deployed a "money laundering squad."

This group of people specifically helped him transfer fraudulent money, involving millions of dollars. At least 250 people across the United States fell into this trap.

Chen Zhi was not idle with the money obtained through fraud, he spent it all on "showing off his wealth."

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice found that he first used a complex "dispersion + collection" technique to launder the stolen money, split the money into countless small amounts, and then aggregated it through multiple accounts. After bypassing supervision, he began to spend wildly.

Every penny spent on luxury travel, luxury watches, private jets, and even the purchase of Picasso paintings from an auction house in New York is the victim's hard-earned money, which is other people's pension money, medical money, and children's tuition money.

02

Cruel human trafficking and forced labor

More importantly, what Chen Zhi was dealing with was not just a simple "pig killing plate", but was also suspected of cruel human trafficking and forced labor.

Justice Department documents indicate that hundreds of people were lured or trafficked to Cambodia and forced to engage in crypto investment scams in fraud zones. Their passports were confiscated, their freedoms were restricted, and they were threatened with violence and even beaten when they refused to comply.

U.S. prosecutors described this criminal network as "a combination of modern slavery and high-tech fraud." Its large-scale operation and cruel control methods far exceed those of the Southeast Asian "pig-killing group" that has been exposed before.

In this criminal activity, the fraudsters themselves are often victims of human trafficking and forced labor. They are subjected to brutal control tactics by their captors, including physical abuse, isolation, restrictions on movement, arbitrary fines and fees, threats of sexual exploitation, and confiscation of personal documents and electronic devices.

Additionally, the U.S. Treasury Department said one of the Prince Group’s fraud syndicates is a group owned by Jin Bei Group Co. Ltd., a luxury hotel and casino company linked to reports of extortion, fraud, forced labor and the brutal murder of a 25-year-old Chinese citizen in 2023.

In 2022, the FBI dismantled a Chinese money laundering network in New York and confirmed that 259 Americans were defrauded of $18 million by the Jinbei Group.

Although Prince Group had previously tried to distance itself from the fraudulent activities of Jinbei Group, a press release issued by the Cambodian government in June 2025 confirmed that Jinbei Casino is owned by Prince Holdings Group, with Chen Zhi serving as CEO.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of the Treasury also sorted out the complex internal composition of the Prince Group and the ins and outs of its illegal activities, and imposed sanctions on dozens of related companies.

Its members come from China's Chongqing City, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as Singapore, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, Palau and other countries, and most of them are Chinese.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury said that all property and interests in property located in the United States or held or controlled by U.S. persons for those involved in the Prince Group and related organizations are frozen and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In addition, any entity that is 50% or more owned directly or indirectly, individually or in aggregate, by one or more frozen persons will also be frozen.

03

19 properties in London frozen, no one caught yet

Faced with Chen Zhi's evil deeds, the United States and Britain took serious action this time.

U.S. Attorney General Bondi said in a statement: "Today's action is one of the most powerful strikes we have ever taken against the global scourge of human trafficking and online financial fraud. ”

The implication is obvious: no matter how big a "big boss" you are, as long as you break the law, don't even think about running away.

U.S. Attorney Nocera even directly addressed fraudsters around the world: “This historic lawsuit and forfeiture prosecution will send a strong signal to fraudsters around the world: No matter where you are, we will track you down. ”

This sentence is not meant to scare people. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added 146 individuals and entities related to the Prince Group to the sanctions list, including not only Chen Zhihe’s company executives, but also shell companies and holding companies in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, and the United Arab Emirates.

Now all the U.S. assets of these people have been frozen, and U.S. individuals and financial institutions cannot do any transactions with them, which is equivalent to cutting off their "financial path" in the United States.

It’s no wonder that the United States is acting so aggressively. According to data from the U.S. Treasury Department, losses caused by online investment fraud in the United States have continued to rise in the past few years, totaling more than $16.6 billion. A U.S. government estimate shows that Americans will lose at least $10 billion due to fraud in Southeast Asia in 2024, an increase of 66% from the previous year, with fraud cases like the Prince Group being particularly serious.

The UK was not idle either and directly froze 19 properties owned by Chen Zhi in London, with a total value of more than 100 million pounds. One of the luxury houses in North London has a market value of 12 million pounds, which is almost 110 million yuan when converted into RMB.

The new British Foreign Secretary Cooper said bluntly: "The masterminds at the center of these horrific scams are destroying the lives of vulnerable people and buying properties in London to park their money. ” Think about it, the victim is worried about his livelihood, but the fraudster lives in a luxury house in London. This is something that no one can tolerate.

What is even more unexpected is that the US authorities also accused Chen Zhi's network of expanding its business to the Pacific island country of Palau, leasing islands through his company and planning to develop resort projects with questionable funds.

Law enforcement agencies said that the relevant camps were not only involved in fraud, but also related to human trafficking, torture and forced labor. Many victims were lured by false recruitment and forced to commit fraud.

However, Chen Zhi has not been caught yet. If convicted of charges including telecom fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, he may face up to 40 years in prison.

References:

The United States cracks down on Cambodia’s largest electronic fraud, the “Pig Killing Plate”! The 38-year-old Chinese real estate tycoon is the mastermind behind this, using Bitcoin to launder money. North American Business Insights
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