What Are the Alleged Leader and the Prince Group, Targeted by the United States and United Kingdom of Massive Fraudulent Schemes?
The UK and United States have imposed sanctions on a multinational network based in south-east Asia, accused of running extensive internet fraud schemes that are believed to using trafficked workers to swindle people globally.
This industry has expanded in the past few years, particularly in certain areas in Cambodia and Myanmar where countless individuals have been deceived by false job adverts and then coerced to commit internet scams, including fake relationship schemes, often under the menace of physical harm.
The US treasury department stated it had taken what it called the largest action ever in south-east Asia, targeting over a hundred individuals associated with the Prince Group, which the United Kingdom also sanctioned.
Those targeted comprise the head 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.
Understanding the Prince Group and the Identity of Chen Zhi?
Based on authoritative sources, Chen Zhi, 38, also known as “Vincent”, is the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group (the group), a global corporate entity based in Cambodia which, as per its online presence, is focused on “real estate development, banking operations and consumer services”.
On 14 October, US authorities stated that Chen, who is still evading capture, had been indicted for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering conspiracy for overseeing Prince Group’s operation of fraud centers using coerced labor throughout the country.
His swift rise to riches has won him significant political influence, comprising reported advisory roles to Cambodia’s prime minister. Chen, born in China in 1987, is believed to have acquired nationality in Vanuatu and Cyprus, and is also a citizen of Cambodia.
Why have the Group Been Penalized?
The Department of Justice alleged individuals had been held against their will in the scam compounds connected to the group and made to participate in a range of deceptive practices that defrauded massive sums from victims in the US and globally.
As part of the investigation into Chen, the US and UK have seized $15bn (£11.3 billion) in bitcoin and blocked London assets.
The frozen properties are believed to comprise a £12m mansion on Avenue Road, one of London’s most expensive addresses, a £95m office block on Fenchurch Street in the heart of the City of London’s financial district, and several flats in central London.
“Now the Federal Bureau of Investigation and allies carried out one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in recorded time,” said FBI director the official in a statement about the actions.
Other Parties Are Implicated?
According to the US assistant attorney general, the accused was the alleged “chief architect behind a sprawling digital scam network functioning under the group's banner”. He was placed on a American blacklist this October alongside more than a dozen other individuals suspected of being involved in his commercial network.
Over a hundred business entities – based in Cambodia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan among others – were also added to a sanctions list because of suspected connections to the leader.
What will the Sanctions Achieve?
Cambodia’s interior ministry spokesperson told news agencies that the government would cooperate with other countries in the case against the individual.
“We are not shielding persons that break regulations,” he said. “However, this does not imply that we are accusing the group or its leader of committing crimes like the allegations made by the US or the UK.”
In spite of the historic set of penalties, experts say the fraud sector is still massive, with the UN calculating in recent years that about a hundred thousand individuals were being forced to carry out online scams in Cambodia, as well as at least one hundred twenty thousand in Myanmar and tens of thousands in Thailand, Laos and the Philippines.
Considering the widespread nature of the enterprise in multiple south-east Asian countries, certain fear any arrests will leave a vacuum for additional global syndicates to take over.
