The U.S. Treasury on Thursday expanded sanctions tied to the alleged Prince Group scam empire, targeting 45 additional people and companies it says helped hide and move illicit proceeds from large-scale crypto and romance scams run out of Southeast Asian “scam compounds.” Quick take - OFAC designated four individuals and 41 entities for allegedly supporting Prince Group’s global laundering and evasion network. - Targets include offshore companies, nominee owners and administrators in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia. - The Treasury is seeking forfeiture of roughly $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to Prince Group activity. - The action was coordinated with the FBI, DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force and other international partners. What the Treasury says The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says the new designations dismantle parts of the international corporate infrastructure Prince Group used to conceal assets and evade earlier sanctions imposed in October 2025 and June 2026. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented, “Cyber scam syndicates continue to steal billions of dollars from American victims while relying on sophisticated international business networks to launder their illicit proceeds.” Who was named Key individuals and entities singled out include: - Qiu Yong — accused of controlling a network of British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong companies for Prince Group, including money lenders and wine businesses. Treasury says Qiu has worked for a company tied to Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi. - Zhao Mengyao — Qiu’s personal assistant, also designated. - Two people tied to Prince Group executive Chen Bo: his wife He Yujing (to whom Chen allegedly transferred a Tokyo mansion after earlier sanctions) and associate Visal Pang, who is said to control 11 Cambodian companies across construction, logistics, hospitality and a “super app.” Eleven companies still controlled by Chen Bo — including Prince International Airlines and CB General Insurance — were added to the list. - Multiple entities in Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia linked to associate Dai An, plus a Singapore media company owned by alleged finance chief Thet Li. - Chui Kok Wa — a Malaysian national based in Madagascar accused of leading a separate network that defrauded Americans of more than $400,000 using crypto and other tech. Related enforcement and assets - The U.S. seeks forfeiture of about $14 billion in Bitcoin allegedly tied to Prince Group operations. - UK authorities have frozen a London penthouse reportedly owned by Thet Li (reported by Decrypt). - The DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force has reported roughly $580 million in crypto seizures and freezes as part of its broader effort against crypto-enabled fraud. Background and international context Prince Group has denied the allegations. Still, law-enforcement actions have been significant: Chen Zhi was arrested in Cambodia in January, extradited to China, and described by Chinese state media as the head of a major cross-border gambling and fraud syndicate; Cambodia revoked his citizenship and placed Prince Bank into liquidation. OFAC’s action was supported by partners in the British Virgin Islands and the UK. Global picture of scam compounds U.N. and multilateral agencies have warned these operations are a massive international problem: - In September, FinCEN linked about $12.7 billion in reported financial activity to suspected crypto investment scams, largely attributed to criminal groups running scam compounds in Southeast Asia. - Interpol last year labeled scam compound networks a global threat for their use of human trafficking, coerced labor and online fraud. - The UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimated in July 2025 that scam operations across East and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand cost victims between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion that year, much of it via crypto investment fraud carried out from compounds detaining people from at least 80 countries. Why it matters for crypto markets This round of sanctions underscores how international enforcement is tracing and targeting the corporate and crypto infrastructure that enables large-scale fraud. Seizures and forfeiture actions tied to billions in crypto signal growing cross-border cooperation — and heighten scrutiny on intermediaries, offshore structures and the on-ramps used to convert stolen crypto into real-world assets. We’ll continue to follow developments as courts, law enforcement and international partners press claims, and as Treasury and enforcement agencies seek to recover and forfeit crypto proceeds linked to the alleged scheme. Read more AI-generated news on: https://app.chaingpt.org/news