Feds Seize Record-Breaking $15 Billion in Bitcoin From Alleged Scam Empire

image via WIRED

October 14, 2025, 5:34 PM

• •The Prince Group, led by Chen Zhi, is accused of running scam compounds in Cambodia involving human trafficking and billions of dollars in fraud.
• •US and UK sanctions target the Prince Group and its affiliates, including financial sanctions and asset freezes.
• •The DOJ seized almost 130,000 bitcoin, worth around $15 billion, from the Prince Group.
• •The coordinated action aims to disrupt the financial architecture supporting these cybercrime operations and scam centers.

Law enforcement agencies in the US and UK have launched a major operation against a Cambodian organized crime group, the Prince Group, responsible for widespread romance and investment scams, also known as "pig butchering." The US Department of the Treasury issued financial sanctions against 146 targets linked to the group, while the DOJ seized approximately $15 billion in bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency seizure to date. The Prince Group allegedly operated scam compounds in Cambodia, where human trafficking victims were forced to run fraudulent operations, causing billions in losses globally. This coordinated action aims to dismantle the financial infrastructure sustaining these transnational crimes.

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