US seizes ₹12,336 Crores in Bitcoin; charges Cambodian mogul with crypto fraud and forced labor

US seizes ₹12,336 Crores in Bitcoin; charges Cambodian mogul with crypto fraud and forced labor

“A chairman of a Cambodian company, ‘Prince Holding Group,’ tainted his hands in a crypto fraud case while being accused of forced labor. ”

Federal prosecutors charged Chen Zhi, the chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group, with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in a large indictment that was released on Tuesday.

At the same time, the US government declared that more than ₹12,366 Crore ($14 billion) worth of bitcoin connected to the scheme had been seized. The scheme, which is frequently referred to as a “pig butchering” swindle, was characterized by prosecutors as “one of the largest investment fraud operations in history.”

At one time, Chen, also known as “Vincent,” allegedly boasted that the scheme was generating an incredible ₹265 crores ($30 million) every day.

Treasury Department

Forced Labor: The Scam’s Main Engine

The alleged use of forced labor to execute the scam is a major and unsettling element of the accusation.

Prosecutors claim that Prince Holding Group constructed at least ten compounds in Cambodia where employees, many of them migrants, were detained against their will. Enclosed by high walls and barbed wire, these compounds served as camps for forced labor.

Instead, workers were imprisoned, segregated, and occasionally abused despite being lured in with promises of lucrative jobs. They had to establish a relationship with thousands of victims using online chat services or social media to persuade them to send cryptocurrencies in the expectation of receiving large investment returns.

According to reports, Chen’s indictment included pictures of injured employees, one of whom had a “bloody gash on his face.” One estate was called “Golden Fortune,” and the other was connected to the group’s Jinbei Casino Hotel.

Expensive Spending and Elite Relationships

Allegedly, the huge scam’s earnings were laundered and utilized to support an opulent lifestyle. The ill-gotten gains, according to the prosecution, were transferred into Prince Holding Group firms and shell companies and used to purchase luxury trips, vacation homes, boats, aircraft, a Picasso painting, and timepieces, including a Rolex watch for an executive’s spouse.

The US Treasury Department has designated the banking and real estate giant a transnational criminal organization, and both US and British authorities have imposed sanctions on it. With the honorary title of neak oknha, which is akin to an English lord, Chen has significant ties to Cambodia’s elite, having advised both current Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, previous Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The Effects Worldwide and the Possibility of Justice

Chen is a “central pillar” of a criminal economy entwined with Cambodia’s ruling regime, and transnational crime experts like Jacob Daniel Sims of Harvard University’s Asia Centre see Prince Holding Group as an “essential part of the scaffolding” enabling global cyber-scamming.

The goal of the US’s indictment and sanctioning action is to “fundamentally change the risk calculus” for international banks and investors who handle the money of Cambodia’s elite. Chen, a Chinese national, is still at large.

He could spend up to 40 years behind bars if found guilty. The US intends to reimburse victims, including one who was defrauded of over ₹35 crores ($400,000) in cryptocurrencies, with the 127,271 bitcoins that were confiscated, which are valued at roughly ₹9 Crores ($113,000 each) (though this amount varies).

About The Author

Suraj Koli is a content specialist in technical writing about cybersecurity & information security. He has written many amazing articles related to cybersecurity concepts, with the latest trends in cyber awareness and ethical hacking. Find out more about “Him.”

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