{"id":777033207,"date":"2025-10-16T08:33:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T11:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777033207"},"modified":"2026-04-21T18:08:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:08:35","slug":"us-and-uk-target-cambodias-prince-group-with-sanctions-over-casino-linked-cybercrime-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/us-and-uk-target-cambodias-prince-group-with-sanctions-over-casino-linked-cybercrime-network","title":{"rendered":"US and UK target Cambodia\u2019s Prince Group with sanctions over casino-linked cybercrime network"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Coordinated sanctions have been imposed over alleged online scams and forced labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Cambodia.- The United States and the United Kingdom have launched a major coordinated action against transnational cybercrime in Southeast Asia, sanctioning Cambodia\u2019s Prince Holding Group<\/strong> and its chairman, Chen Zhi<\/strong>, over allegations of large-scale online fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking tied to casino and crypto ventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sanctions target 146 individuals and entities linked to Prince Group, a conglomerate with interests spanning real estate, finance, and gaming. Authorities accuse Chen of masterminding an industrial-scale cyberfraud empire<\/strong> that used casinos, hotels, and cryptocurrency platforms to move billions of dollars in illicit proceeds across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the centre of the allegations is the Jin Bei Casino and Resort<\/strong> in Sihanoukville, reportedly used to launder funds and as a base for \u201cpig butchering\u201d scams, online investment schemes that defrauded victims worldwide. US officials claim the casino complex also hosted trafficking operations where foreign workers were coerced into conducting online scams under the threat of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging Chen with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies<\/strong> and seized nearly 127,000 Bitcoin<\/strong>, worth approximately US$15bn, in what prosecutors described as the largest asset forfeiture in the department\u2019s history. The UK, meanwhile, froze Chen\u2019s British assets and banned citizens and companies from doing business with the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cambodia\u2019s government said it would cooperate with international authorities if provided with evidence<\/strong>. Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak<\/strong> emphasised that Prince Holding Group \u201chas met all legal requirements to operate in Cambodia\u201d and that Chen\u2019s Cambodian citizenship was lawfully granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prince Group has denied all allegations<\/strong>, claiming that its casino and hospitality operations are legitimate businesses compliant with Cambodian law. At the time of writing, the company had not issued a public statement in response to the new sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Thai sports streamers and influencers arrested for allegedly promoting illegal gambling<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coordinated sanctions have been imposed over alleged online scams and forced labour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":21187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The United States and United Kingdom have imposed coordinated sanctions on Cambodia's Prince Holding Group and its chairman, Chen Zhi, over allegations of large-scale online fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking tied to casino and crypto ventures. The actions target 146 entities and individuals, with specific focus on the Jin Bei Casino and Resort, accused of facilitating \"pig butchering\" scams and forced labor. US authorities have unsealed an indictment against Chen Zhi and seized significant crypto assets, while the UK has frozen his British assets.","focusai_entities":"United States, United Kingdom, Prince Holding Group, Chen Zhi, Jin Bei Casino and Resort, US Department of Justice, Cambodia's government, Interior Ministry, Touch Sokhak","focusai_location":"Cambodia, Southeast Asia, Sihanoukville","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (1.0), investor_analyst (0.95), supplier_vendor (0.85), journalist_researcher (0.95)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Sanctions Impact","query":"What are the immediate and long-term implications of these coordinated US\/UK sanctions on Prince Holding Group's operational capabilities and its broader investment portfolio in Cambodia and Southeast Asia?"},{"label":"Regulatory Response","query":"How will the Cambodian government's stated cooperation, or lack thereof, influence future international regulatory actions and the perception of its iGaming and investment governance frameworks?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,16333],"tags":[30,24764,24943],"class_list":["post-777033207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-cambodia","tag-money-laundering","tag-prince-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777033207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777033207"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777033207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777033224,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777033207\/revisions\/777033224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777033207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777033207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777033207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}