Who Is Chen Zhi and the Prince Group, Targeted by the United States and United Kingdom of Large-Scale Fraudulent Schemes?
The UK and US have enforced measures on a multinational network based in Southeast Asia, allegedly running large-scale internet fraud schemes that are believed to using victims of human trafficking to swindle people globally.
This industry has expanded in the past few years, especially in parts of Myanmar and Cambodia where hundreds of thousands have been duped by fraudulent employment offers and then forced to carry out online fraud, such as fake relationship schemes, sometimes under the menace of torture.
The United States Treasury stated it had taken what it described as the most significant measure to date in south-east Asia, targeting 146 people associated with the Prince Group, which the UK also penalized.
Those targeted include the leader of the alleged network, Chen Zhi, as well as more than a dozen individuals connected to his commercial activities across Southeast Asia and Pacific regions.
What is the Prince Group and Who is Chen Zhi?
According to authoritative sources, the individual in question, 38, also known as “Vincent”, is the founder and chairman of the so-called conglomerate (Prince Group), a multinational business conglomerate based in the Southeast Asian nation which, as per its online presence, is focused on “property investment, banking operations and retail offerings”.
On 14 October, American officials stated that Chen, who is still evading capture, had been indicted for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering conspiracy for overseeing the group's activities of forced labour scam compounds throughout Cambodia.
Chen’s rapid ascent to wealth has won him significant political influence, including reported advisory roles to the nation's leader. The individual, born in China in 1987, is believed to have acquired nationality in Vanuatu and Cyprus, and is also a citizen of Cambodia.
Reasons Behind They Been Penalized?
The US justice department claimed individuals had been forcibly detained in the scam compounds connected to the group and forced to participate in a range of deceptive practices that stole billions of dollars from victims in the United States and worldwide.
As part of the investigation into Chen, the US and UK have seized $15 billion (£11.3 billion) in bitcoin and frozen properties in London.
The frozen properties are believed to comprise a £12m mansion on a prestigious street, one of London’s most expensive addresses, a £95 million office block on a key financial avenue in the center of the City of London’s financial district, and several flats in central London.
“Now the FBI and allies carried out one of the biggest crackdowns on fraud in history,” said FBI director Kash Patel in a statement about the measures.
Other Parties Are Implicated?
According to the US assistant attorney general, Chen was the alleged “chief architect behind a vast cyber-fraud empire functioning under the Prince Group umbrella”. He was placed on a American blacklist this month together with more than a dozen other individuals believed to be involved in his business empire.
Over a hundred corporate bodies – based in multiple Asian jurisdictions among others – were also added to a blacklist because of suspected connections to the leader.
Impact of the Sanctions Achieve?
A representative from Cambodia's government told media outlets that the authorities would cooperate with foreign nations in the legal proceeding against Chen.
“We do not shielding individuals that break regulations,” he said. “But it does not mean that we are accusing the group or its leader of engaging in illegal acts similar to the claims made by the US or the UK.”
Despite the unprecedented tranche of sanctions, analysts say the fraud sector is still enormous, with the UN estimating in 2023 that about a hundred thousand individuals were being compelled to execute online scams in the nation, as well as at least one hundred twenty thousand in the neighboring country and many thousands in other Southeast Asian states.
Given the widespread nature of the industry in several south-east Asian countries, certain worry any arrests will create a gap for additional global syndicates to swoop in.
