US Treasury sanctions 45 more targets tied to Prince Group, alleged scam network
In brief
- OFAC designated four individuals and 41 entities it says support Cambodia's Prince Group.
- Treasury says the targets helped executives hide assets and evade sanctions from October 2025 and June 2026.
- Those named include Qiu Yong, He Yujing and 11 companies Chen Bo still controls.
- Prince Group has denied the allegations.
Who Treasury named
The new round goes after offshore companies, nominee owners and administrators, according to Treasury. One name stands out. Treasury said Qiu Yong controls a network of British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong companies on behalf of Prince Group (money lenders and wine businesses among them), and that he's worked for a company controlled by chairman Chen Zhi. His personal assistant, Zhao Mengyao, was also designated.
Chen Bo, a Prince Group executive sanctioned in June, gets a lot of attention too. Treasury designated his wife, He Yujing, and said he transferred ownership of his Tokyo mansion to her after the October 2025 sanctions. It also named associate Visal Pang, who controls 11 Cambodian companies spanning construction, logistics, a hotel and a "super app," plus eleven companies Chen Bo still controls, including Prince International Airlines and CB General Insurance.
Entities in Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia were sanctioned for links to associate Dai An, along with a Singapore media company owned by alleged finance chief Thet Li. Separately, OFAC designated Chui Kok Wa, a Malaysian national based in Madagascar who Treasury said led a scam network that took more than $400,000 from Americans using crypto and other technologies.
"Cyber scam syndicates continue to steal billions of dollars from American victims while relying on sophisticated international business networks to launder their illicit proceeds," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Prince Group has denied the allegations.
A wider squeeze
Treasury said Thursday's action was coordinated with the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska and the Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force (which has reported $580 million in crypto seizures and freezes). Authorities in the British Virgin Islands and the UK assisted.
It isn't the only front. The U.S. is seeking forfeiture of about $14 billion in Bitcoin tied to Prince Group, according to Decrypt, which also reported last month that UK authorities froze Thet Li's London penthouse. Chen Zhi was arrested in Cambodia in January with two other Chinese nationals and extradited to China, where state media described him as head of a cross-border gambling and fraud syndicate, the BBC reported. Cambodia had revoked his citizenship the month before and put Prince Bank into liquidation.
The scale of the problem
Interpol declared scam compound networks a global threat last year, citing human trafficking, online fraud and coerced labor. In September, FinCEN linked about $12.7 billion in reported financial activity to suspected crypto investment scams, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimated in July that scam operations across East and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand cost victims between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
What is Prince Group accused of?
Prince Group is a Cambodian conglomerate accused of running scam compounds that used trafficked workers to defraud victims through crypto investment and romance scams. Prince Group has denied the allegations.
Why did Treasury sanction 45 more Prince Group targets?
Treasury said the four individuals and 41 entities, including offshore companies, nominee owners and administrators, helped Prince Group executives conceal assets and evade sanctions imposed in October 2025 and June 2026. OFAC announced the designations on Thursday.
