What Are Chen Zhi and the So-Called Crime Network, Accused by the US and UK of Large-Scale Fraudulent Schemes?
The United Kingdom and US have enforced measures on a multinational network operating from south-east Asia, allegedly orchestrating extensive online scam operations that are believed to using trafficked workers to swindle individuals around the world.
This criminal enterprise has expanded in recent years, especially in certain areas in Cambodia and Myanmar where countless individuals have been deceived by false job adverts and then forced to carry out internet scams, including romance scams, often under the threat of torture.
The United States Treasury stated it had taken what it described as the most significant measure to date in south-east Asia, focusing on over a hundred individuals connected to the Prince Group, which the UK also sanctioned.
Those sanctioned comprise the head of the Prince group, Chen Zhi, as well as more than a dozen individuals connected to his commercial activities across south-east Asia and the Pacific.
Understanding the Prince Group and Who is Chen Zhi?
Based on authoritative sources, Chen Zhi, thirty-eight, also known as “Vincent”, is the leader and establisher of the so-called conglomerate (Prince Group), a global corporate entity headquartered in the Southeast Asian nation which, as per its online presence, is centered around “property investment, banking operations and retail offerings”.
On 14 October, American officials stated that Chen, who is still evading capture, had been charged with wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to launder money for directing the group's activities of forced labour scam compounds throughout Cambodia.
His swift rise to riches has won him substantial clout, including alleged consulting positions to Cambodia’s prime minister. The individual, a native of China from 1987, is believed to have bought citizenship in Vanuatu and Cyprus, and is also a citizen of Cambodia.
Why have the Group Been Penalized?
The Department of Justice claimed people had been forcibly detained in the scam compounds connected to the syndicate and made to participate in a variety of fraudulent schemes that defrauded massive sums from targets in the United States and worldwide.
As part of the investigation into the leader, the US and UK have seized $15 billion (£11.3bn) in bitcoin and blocked properties in London.
The frozen properties are thought to include a £12m mansion on a prestigious street, one of the costliest locations in London, a £95m commercial building on Fenchurch Street in the heart of the City of London’s financial district, and several flats in downtown London.
“Today the FBI and allies executed one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history,” said FBI director Kash Patel in a statement about the actions.
Who else Are Implicated?
Based on the senior justice official, the accused was the alleged “chief architect behind a sprawling digital scam network functioning under the Prince Group umbrella”. He was placed on a American blacklist this October alongside over a dozen other individuals believed to be participating in his commercial network.
Over a hundred business entities – based in multiple Asian jurisdictions and more – were also added to a blacklist 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 legal proceeding against the individual.
“We are not shielding individuals that break regulations,” the official said. “But it does not mean that we blame the group or its leader of committing crimes like the allegations issued 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 100,000 people were being compelled to execute internet fraud in the nation, as well as at least one hundred twenty thousand in Myanmar and many thousands in other Southeast Asian states.
Considering the prevalence of the enterprise in several south-east Asian countries, some worry any arrests will leave a vacuum for other transnational groups to swoop in.
