Particle.news
Download on the App Store

U.S. Seizes $15 Billion in Bitcoin and Charges Prince Group Chief in Forced-Labor Crypto Scam as Cambodia Demands Due Process

Prosecutors link the trove to coerced “pig butchering” operations in Cambodia, signaling a cross-border campaign to choke off the network’s finances.

Overview

  • Federal prosecutors filed the DOJ’s largest civil forfeiture action, seeking 127,271 Bitcoin now in U.S. custody that they traced to unhosted wallets controlled by Chen Zhi.
  • An indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges the Prince Holding Group founder with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy tied to industrial-scale scams run by trafficked workers.
  • The U.S. Treasury and U.K. announced coordinated sanctions designating Prince Group a transnational criminal organization and blacklisting affiliated people and entities, including cutting Huione Group off from the U.S. financial system.
  • Chen remains at large as the FBI seeks information on his whereabouts, and he faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
  • Cambodia said Prince Group met legal requirements and called for evidence to support the sanctions, while U.K. authorities reported freezing London properties linked to the case.