TL;DR
- OFAC has designated the Prince Group TCO and 146 related targets for working huge “pig butchering” rip-off operations, together with particular person Chen Zhi.
- The community’s crypto operations embody bitcoin mining by means of Warp Knowledge Know-how and the laundering of rip-off proceeds.
- Huione Group, a key monetary providers supplier, has been lower off from the U.S. monetary system after laundering over $4 billion in illicit crypto proceeds, and has processed over $98 billion of complete cryptocurrency inflows over the previous 4 and a half years.
- The U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) launched a record-breaking forfeiture case involving $15 billion in bitcoin held in U.S. custody.
On October 14, 2025, the U.S. Division of the Treasury’s Workplace of Overseas Belongings Management (OFAC) and Monetary Crimes Enforcement Community (FinCEN), in coordination with the UK’s Overseas, Commonwealth, and Growth Workplace (FCDO), took action towards cryptocurrency-enabled rip-off networks working in Southeast Asia. The designation consists of the Prince Group Transnational Legal Group (TCO) and its huge community of corporations and people, together with Chen Zhi, concerned in cryptocurrency scams, mining operations, and money laundering. As a part of the broader community, the U.Ok.’s Workplace of Monetary Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) additionally sanctioned Byex Trade, a cryptocurrency change platform with hyperlinks to each Jin Bei Group Co. Ltd and Prince Group.
As a part of the motion, Huione Group, which was topic to a Discover of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on Could 1, 2025, has now been designated underneath FinCEN’s Particular Measures as a major cash laundering concern underneath Part 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, formally severing the agency’s entry to the U.S. monetary system.
As well as, the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) has unsealed an indictment towards Chen Zhi, also called “Vincent,” the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group (Prince Group). The DOJ additionally filed a historic $15 billion civil forfeiture criticism involving roughly 127,000 bitcoin linked to the fraudulent schemes.
Cryptocurrency on the heart of operations
A luxurious lodge and on line casino operation tied to the Prince Group, Jin Bei Group Co. Ltd., has been linked to a sequence of felony actions throughout Cambodia, together with extortion, compelled labor, large-scale scamming, and the brutal 2023 homicide of a 25-year-old Chinese language nationwide. In a 2022 U.S. takedown of a Chinese language cash laundering community, the FBI recognized 259 People who misplaced a complete of $18 million to scammers working inside Jin Bei compounds, which is only a fraction of the broader monetary hurt attributed to the group. Regardless of efforts by Prince Holding Group to disassociate itself, public data and a June 2025 Cambodian authorities press launch verify that it owns Jin Bei On line casino, with Chen Zhi named as CEO.
Chen Zhi and a community of high-ranking associates used an internet of corporations and subsidiaries to coordinate cash laundering, funding fraud, compelled labor, and different severe crimes throughout Southeast Asia. People near Chen Zhi, together with actual property executives, monetary operatives, and shell firm house owners are accused of shifting illicit funds, overseeing rip-off compounds, and facilitating violence to take care of management.
Prince Group’s attain extends far past Cambodia, together with into Palau, the place it reportedly tried to launder its picture by means of high-end resort improvement. With the assistance of Rose Wang, a Palau-based determine linked to organized crime, Prince Group secured a 99-year lease on Ngerbelas Island to construct a luxurious resort underneath a entrance firm known as Grand Legend. The OFAC press launch highlights that this enlargement was a part of a broader effort to legitimize income from felony enterprises whereas sustaining deep ties to identified underworld figures.
On the coronary heart of the operation have been 4 bitcoin addresses immediately managed by Chen Zhi, the group’s chief, amassing over $1.77 billion in bitcoin over the previous two and a half years:
- bc1qeth6n6ryxexvkx34wnx3nuynun4474h3j0gkhw
- bc1q2we5eqjj8je6lz9xwjattpc3pn4jejc5h0s70f
- bc1qnujzvts45qka3cr2eqqw8ur3q6g6s0ze2wlk5m
- bc1qw4fxztd5u3sl7vrcqwk2a8v5zh5dllvckx3tlt
The group additionally operated a devoted bitcoin mining operation in Laos by means of Warp Knowledge Know-how, which funneled giant portions of bitcoin to wallets managed by Chen Zhi. This mining operation labored in live performance with the group’s “pig butchering” scams, the place victims have been satisfied to take a position in fraudulent crypto platforms, and their complicated cash laundering operations carried out by means of a community of over 100 shell corporations. As seen in the Chainalysis Reactor graph beneath, Chen Zhi’s wallets obtained intensive inflows not directly from a mining pool:
The size of the crypto-enabled fraud is staggering. Via Huione Group alone, authorities recognized over $4 billion in illicit proceeds laundered between August 2021 and January 2025, together with $37 million from North Korean cyber heists, $36 million from crypto funding scams, and $300 million from different cyber scams. Huione Group has additionally processed over $98 billion of complete cryptocurrency inflows inside that timeframe, together with to a bunch of illicit actors, as we’ve beforehand highlighted, together with cash launderers, escort providers, drug distributors, and extra.
The above graph solely scratches the floor of Huione Group’s facilitation of illicit exercise, which has prolonged to sanctioned entities, jurisdictions, and a bunch of assorted illicit cryptocurrency-related exercise.
Lastly, OFSI’s motion towards Byex Trade additional highlights the community utilized by Prince Group and Jin Bei. As seen in the Reactor graph beneath, Byex has interacted immediately with Huione; and facilitated pig butchering rip-off funds, rip-off expertise distributors equivalent to social media focusing on and SMS account distributors, and cash motion providers which assist facilitate laundering of illicit proceeds.
Affect on cryptocurrency compliance and asset restoration
In the present day’s motion represents the largest-ever coordinated effort focusing on crypto-enabled rip-off networks in Southeast Asia, together with a historic $15 billion bitcoin seizure. This landmark restoration demonstrates the rising functionality of regulation enforcement to hint and seize illicit cryptocurrency property, which Chainalysis estimates could amount to hundreds of billions of {dollars} globally.
To guard towards these kinds of rip-off networks, crypto companies ought to display transactions towards newly designated entities and people, monitor for typical “pig butchering” rip-off patterns, and be alert to connections with Huione Group, which is now lower off from the U.S. monetary system.
Now we have up to date our screening options to incorporate all designated people and entities from immediately’s motion and can proceed monitoring for added cryptocurrency addresses and entities related to those networks.
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