Sanctioned! Major penalty for Cambodia tycoon over cyber slavery
The US and UK have taken coordinated action against a Cambodia-based crime network accused of running online scamming centers that trap trafficked workers in cyber slavery and steal billions each year.
The measures target Cambodia’s Prince Group and its chairman Chen Zhi, whom US prosecutors accuse of leading a massive cyberfraud empire. The US Treasury Department said 146 individuals and entities were sanctioned, calling the network a “transnational criminal organization” involved in cyberfraud, human trafficking, and money laundering.
Officials described the move as “one of the most significant strikes ever against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-enabled financial fraud.” They added:
By dismantling a criminal empire built on forced labor and deception, we are sending a clear message that the United States will use every tool at its disposal to defend victims.
Scam compounds built on forced labor
Cambodian authorities recently found the body of a South Korean student in an area notorious for scam compounds and trafficking. Investigators suspect he was forced into labor. Traffickers promise victims high-paying jobs, confine them in compounds and, using torture, force them to participate in online fraud.
Prosecutors allege that Chen, a Chinese-Cambodian businessman, oversaw “the construction, operation, and management” of scam compounds, reports The Diplomat. These operations reportedly expanded during the pandemic, using trafficked workers from across the region.
The indictment also accuses Chen of authorizing bribes to protect his business interests and laundering illegal profits through cryptocurrency. Prosecutors allege the money was spent on luxury travel, expensive items, and rare artwork, including a Picasso.
Federal prosecutors also unsealed an indictment charging Chen with wire fraud and money laundering. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors also seized nearly $15 billion in bitcoin—the Justice Department’s largest-ever forfeiture.
In the UK, authorities have frozen 19 London properties valued at over £100 million associated with the Prince Group, with the goal of preventing Chen and his network from accessing the UK’s financial system.
Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg called Chen the “mastermind behind a sprawling cyberfraud empire.”