US & UK Launch Unprecedented Joint Crackdown on Cybercrime Networks in Southeast Asia

The United States and UK have announced their largest-ever coordinated action against cybercriminal networks operating in Southeast Asia, marking a major escalation in international efforts to dismantle transnational scam operations.

The US Department of the Treasury, through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), in partnership with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has imposed sweeping sanctions on the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organisation (TCO) and severed the Huione Group from the US financial system.

The action targets large-scale cyberfraud operations that have cost global victims billions of dollars, including an estimated $16.6 billion lost by US citizens to online investment scams. Much of this activity has been traced to criminal enterprises in Cambodia and neighbouring countries.

Prince Group Declared a Transnational Criminal Organisation

At the centre of the US and UK action is the Prince Group TCO, a Cambodia-based conglomerate led by Chen Zhi, now formally designated as a transnational criminal organisation. OFAC has sanctioned 146 entities and individuals associated with the group, citing its extensive involvement in cyberfraud, human trafficking, extortion, and money laundering.

Prince Group operates a network of scam compounds in Cambodia that rely on forced labour and human trafficking to perpetrate online investment scams, sextortion, and fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. Victims are lured into fake investment platforms and defrauded of their savings, while many of the perpetrators are themselves victims of trafficking subjected to violence, torture, and enslavement.

The network includes over 100 offshore shell companies, luxury resorts, casinos, and real estate holdings used to launder billions of dollars in illicit proceeds. Among the sanctioned entities are Prince Holding Group, Prince Bank Plc., and Prince Huan Yu Real Estate Cambodia Group Co. Ltd., alongside key associates and front companies operating across Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

Huione Group Cut Off from Global Finance

In a parallel action, FinCEN has issued a final rule under section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act designating Cambodia-based Huione Group as a primary money laundering concern. The decision effectively cuts Huione off from the US financial system, prohibiting American financial institutions from maintaining correspondent accounts on its behalf.

Huione is accused of laundering over $4 billion in illicit proceeds between 2021 and 2025, including funds linked to North Korean cyber heists and Southeast Asian scam networks. The group is described as a “critical financial node” for the movement of proceeds derived from investment scams and other cyber-enabled frauds.

Bilateral Coordination & Criminal Charges

The FCDO has mirrored the US designations, imposing UK sanctions on Prince Holding Group, Chen Zhi, and key associates. The coordinated measures coincide with the unsealing of a US criminal indictment against Chen Zhi in the Eastern District of New York, supported by the FBI and UK authorities.

The combined actions are intended to isolate major financial enablers of transnational cybercrime, signalling a new phase of joint enforcement between the US and UK against global scam networks.

Expanding Network of Sanctioned Actors

Treasury’s designations also target Jin Bei Group Co. Ltd., a luxury casino operator implicated in extortion, forced labour, and multiple murders, including that of Chinese national Yi Ming Dali in 2023. Other named figures include Guy Chhay, Lei Bo, Zhu Zhongbiao (Jack Zhu), Ing Dara, Sandy Zhou, Alan Yeo, and Karen Chen, who are accused of facilitating money laundering, property development for scam compounds, and cryptocurrency transfers.

The actions follow a series of recent US Treasury measures against regional cybercrime facilitators, including designations of Burmese and Cambodian actors in September 2025 and Philippine-based infrastructure firm Funnull Technology Inc. in May 2025.

A Global Stand Against Cybercrime & Digital Exploitation

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the crackdown as a decisive move to protect citizens from online predation:

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

This joint action demonstrates the growing determination of the US and UK to confront the convergence of cybercrime, financial fraud, and human exploitation across Southeast Asia. It underscores the increasing integration of sanctions, law enforcement, and financial intelligence in tackling organised digital crime on a global scale.

Read the press release here.