The digital asset enterprise associated with Chen Zhi, which was implicated in an intricate scheme of deception and illicit transportation, was dismantled through a collaborative effort undertaken by the governmental authorities of the United States and the United Kingdom partnering together.
Federal authorities in the US are proceeding to confiscate 127,271 units of Bitcoin, with a current worth of roughly $14.2 billion dollars, which investigators allege was unlawfully generated via a transnational “pig butchering” fraud orchestrated by the Chinese citizen Chen Zhi.
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Should the process be successfully concluded, the Bitcoin is mandated to be integrated into the United States’ Strategic Bitcoin Reserve pursuant to the provisions of a Presidential Executive Order that was issued earlier in the current year by Trump. Nevertheless, the absence of a formalized policy amidst the governmental stoppage and a rapidly approaching deadline for ratification could result in the disruption of the entire scheme.
“The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve will be capitalized with bitcoin owned by the Department of Treasury that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.”
The Executive Order explicitly states,
A far-reaching criminal operation that intertwined investment fraud utilizing digital assets, the illicit transportation of individuals, and governmental malfeasance was delineated by the legal submission, which was formally presented on the fourteenth of October.
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The court documentation alleges that Zhi oversaw the operations of Prince Group, an organization that was considered a principal entity within Cambodia’s clandestine digital financial sector.
A network of illicit compounds was operated by the corporate group, sites that simultaneously served as detention facilities for individuals subjected to human trafficking. It was reported that thousands of migrants, who were enticed by deceptive employment advertisements, were coerced into managing fraudulent digital asset investment schemes under the threat of physical force.
A minimum of ten large operational complexes were established under Chen’s direct supervision, encompassing facilities that were connected to the Jinbei Hotel and Casino, the Golden Fortune Science and Technology Park, and the Mango Park location.
Court documentation indicates that manual records detailing the activities of each location were personally maintained by Chen, with references being made to the Mandarin term “sha zhu,” or “pig-butchering,” which is a phrase utilized to describe elaborate long-form scams where victims are first emotionally manipulated before they are defrauded of their assets.
It is asserted by the United States government that prosecution was evaded by Chen and his top managers through the strategic use of graft and political leverage, even to the extent that prior notifications of scheduled law enforcement interventions were obtained by them.
By leveraging these strategic relationships, the corporate entity was able to maintain operational command over billions of dollars in unlawful digital asset movements and solidify its dominance within the wider clandestine financial system of Cambodia.
Sanctions Imposed on Huione
In addition to initiating the confiscation of the illicit monetary holdings, punitive economic measures were also imposed on Zhen and his associated corporate structures by the authorities of the United States, who acted in concert with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).
In accordance with the public statement, punitive actions were imposed by OFAC on 146 individuals and corporate bodies affiliated with the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), a Cambodian-domiciled consortium spearheaded by Chen Zhi that purportedly orchestrated hundreds of digital investment frauds aimed at US nationals and subjects of partner states.
Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act was also invoked by FinCEN to formally disconnect Cambodia’s Huione Group from the American banking infrastructure, with the entity being classified as a primary channel for the concealment of revenue derived from digital asset fraud and associated cybercrime activities.
The financial networks operated by Huione were described by United States officials as essential in the concealment of billions in funds that had been stolen from investors across the globe.
