Reported by U.S. Department of the Treasury

(Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278)

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), in close coordination with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), took complementary actions against criminal networks responsible for targeting citizens of the United States and other allied nations through online scams and the laundering of stolen funds. 

OFAC has imposed sweeping sanctions on 146 targets within the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization(Prince Group TCO), a Cambodia-based network led by Cambodian national Chen Zhi that operates a transnational criminal empire through online investment scams targeting Americans and others worldwide. In addition, FinCEN finalized a rule under section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act to sever the Cambodia-based financial services conglomerate, Huione Group, from the U.S. financial system.  For years, Huione Group has laundered proceeds of virtual currency scams and heists on behalf of malicious cyber actors.

“The rapid rise of transnational fraud has cost American citizens billions of dollars, with life savings wiped out in minutes,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.  “Treasury is taking action to protect Americans by cracking down on foreign scammers.  Working in close coordination with federal law enforcement and international partners like the United Kingdom, Treasury will continue to lead efforts to safeguard Americans from predatory criminals.”

OVER $16 BILLION LOST TO ONLINE SCAMS SPURS U.S.–U.K. ACTION

U.S. losses to online investment scams have steadily increased over the last several years, totaling over $16.6 billion.  A U.S. government estimate indicated that Americans lost at least $10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scam operations in 2024, a 66 percent increase over the prior year, with scams like those perpetrated by Prince Group TCO being particularly significant.  Over the course of the past decade, transnational organized criminal groups, like Prince Group TCO, have established profitable cyberfraud operations across Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia.  Prince Group TCO remains a dominant player in Cambodia’s scam economy and has controlled illicit financial flows of billions of dollars.