US seizes $14B in BTC in major pig butchering scheme
The United States announced the seizure of more than $14bn in BTC and filed charges against Chen Zhi, a Cambodian national and founder of the multi‑sector Prince Group.
According to New York prosecutors, Chen orchestrated a large-scale online crypto fraud and helped launder the illicit proceeds. At the same time, the US and UK imposed sanctions on his business network. In Britain, authorities froze assets, including 19 London properties, with one reportedly worth nearly £100 million.
The US Department of Justice describes the case as one of the largest financial operations in its history: authorities now control 127,271 BTC. Investigators allege that under the Prince Group banner operated a “wide‑ranging cyber‑criminal structure” that lured victims with promises of high returns and induced them to transfer cryptocurrency.
Court filings say at least ten fraud hubs were set up in Cambodia under Chen Zhi’s direction. These complexes functioned like factories for mass recruitment of new victims: accomplices bought databases with millions of phone numbers and ran call centres. In just two sites, there were 1,250 smartphones managing roughly 76,000 social‑media accounts. Internal guidance allegedly included tips on how to earn trust, even advising against using overly glamorous female profile photos so accounts looked more credible.
Law‑enforcement officials also report human‑trafficking elements: workers, often recruited from developing countries, were brought in with promises of legal jobs, then confined in prison‑like conditions and forced to execute so-called "pig butchering" scams.
Proceeds were allegedly spent on luxury travel and entertainment, expensive watches, private jets and art, including the purchase of a Picasso at a New York auction. In the UK, entities linked to the businessman registered companies in the British Virgin Islands and invested in London real estate: besides an office building worth about £100m, authorities cite a £12m mansion and 17 high‑end flats.
If convicted, Chen Zhi faces up to 40 years in prison.
Sanctions target Prince Group, Jin Bei Group, Golden Fortune Resorts World and Byex Exchange. Two hubs allegedly connected to this circle were previously cited in an Amnesty International report on forced labour and torture in Cambodia’s scam compounds. UK officials characterise this criminal activity as operating on an “industrial scale” and stress that sanctions block the network’s access to the country’s financial system.
Recommended