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OFAC sanctioned Prince Group TCO and 146 associated individuals, including Chen Zhi, for their involvement in operating a large-scale fraudulent enterprise involving romance scams (pig butchering).
The network's cryptocurrency operations include Bitcoin mining through Warp Data Technology and money laundering of fraudulent proceeds.
Huione Group, a major financial services provider, has been cut off from the US financial system after laundering over $4 billion in illicit cryptocurrency proceeds and processing over $98 billion in cryptocurrency inflows over the past four and a half years.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched the largest-ever forfeiture case involving $15 billion worth of Bitcoin in U.S. custody.
On October 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), in collaboration with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), took action against a cryptocurrency fraud network operating in Southeast Asia. The sanctions designation includes Prince Group TCO and a large network of associated companies and individuals, including Chen Zhi, who are involved in cryptocurrency fraud, mining operations, money laundering, and other activities. The UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Enforcement (OFSI) also imposed sanctions on Byex Exchange, a cryptocurrency exchange with ties to Jin Bei Group Co. Ltd. and Prince Group.
As part of this action, Huione Group, which was the subject of a Notice of Proposed Legislation (NPRM) on May 1, 2025, was designated as a major money laundering concern by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, and was officially denied access to the U.S. financial system.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment against Chen Zhi (aka Vincent), founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group (Prince Group). The DOJ also filed the largest civil forfeiture complaint in history, targeting approximately 127,000 bitcoins (valued at approximately $15 billion) in connection with the fraud scheme.
Crypto assets at the heart of our business
Jin Bei Group Co. Ltd., a luxury hotel and casino business associated with the Prince Group, has been linked to a variety of criminal activity throughout Cambodia, including extortion, forced labor, large-scale fraud, and even the murder of a 25-year-old Chinese man in 2023. During a 2022 uncovering of a Chinese-backed money laundering network in the United States, the FBI identified fraudsters operating within the Jin Bei Compound as having misappropriated 259 Americans out of a total of $18 million, a small fraction of the group's total financial losses. While Prince Holding Group has attempted to disassociate itself, public records and a June 2025 Cambodian government press release confirm that Jin Bei Casino is owned by Prince Holding Group and that Chen Zhi is its CEO.
Chen Zhi and his network of associates used multiple companies and subsidiaries to systematically carry out money laundering, investment fraud, forced labor, and other serious crimes across Southeast Asia. Real estate executives, financial operators, and shell company owners close to Chen Zhi allegedly transferred illicit funds, oversaw the fraudulent facilities, and committed acts of violence to maintain control.
The Prince Group's influence extends far beyond Cambodia, also extending to Palau. In Palau, with the cooperation of Rose Wang, who is allegedly linked to organized crime, the group acquired a 99-year lease on Ngerbelas Island and developed a luxury resort through a front company called Grand Legend. OFAC's press release emphasizes that this expansion was intended to legitimize the proceeds of crime and that the group maintained deep ties to key figures in the underworld.
At the heart of this operation were four Bitcoin addresses directly controlled by Chen Zhi, which had amassed over $1.77 billion in Bitcoin over the past two and a half years.
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bc1q2we5eqjj8je6lz9xwjattpc3pn4jejc5h0s70f
bc1qnujzvts45qka3cr2eqqw8ur3q6g6s0ze2wlk5m
bc1qw4fxztd5u3sl7vrcqwk2a8v5zh5dllvckx3tlt
The group also operated a dedicated Bitcoin mining operation through Warp Data Technology in Laos, transferring large amounts of Bitcoin generated from the operation to a wallet controlled by Chen Zhi. This mining operation was linked to a pig butchering scheme to lure victims into investing in fake cryptocurrency platforms, as well as a complex money laundering network using more than 100 shell companies. As shown in graphs from the Chainalysis research tool , Chen Zhi's wallet received significant indirect inflows from the mining pool.
The scale of cryptocurrency crimes, including romance scams, is enormous, with over $4 billion in illicit proceeds laundered through Huione Group alone between August 2021 and January 2025, including $37 million from North Korean cyber thefts, $36 million from cryptocurrency investment scams, and $300 million from other cyber frauds. During the same period, Huione Group handled over $98 billion in cryptocurrency inflows, with funds flowing to a number of fraudulent actors, including money launderers, escort services, and drug dealers.
While the graph above only shows a small portion of the Huione Group's malicious activities, their involvement in a wide range of malicious activities, including sanctioned organizations and illicit cryptocurrency transactions, is expanding.
Finally, OFSI's action against Byex Exchange further sheds light on the network utilized by Prince Group and Jin Bei. As seen in the graphs in the investigation tool, Byex works directly with Huione, as well as with romance scam payments, fraud technology vendors such as social media targeting and SMS account vendors, and fund transfer services to facilitate the laundering of illicit proceeds.
Cryptocurrency Compliance and its Impact on Asset Recovery
This represents the largest-ever coordinated crackdown on cryptocurrency fraud networks in Southeast Asia and includes the historic seizure of $15 billion worth of Bitcoin. This recovery demonstrates the rapidly improving capabilities of law enforcement to track and seize illicit cryptocurrency, which Chainalysis estimates could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars globally.
To protect themselves from these fraudulent networks, cryptocurrency businesses should screen transactions with newly sanctioned individuals and entities, watch for typical pig butchering patterns, and be wary of any connections to the Huione Group, which has already been cut off from the US financial system.
Our screening solutions now reflect all individuals and entities designated today and will continue to monitor any additional cryptocurrency addresses and entities associated with these networks.
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