🔗 Share this article What Is Chen Zhi and the So-Called Crime Network, Accused by the United States and United Kingdom of Large-Scale Scam Operations? The UK and United States have imposed sanctions on a global syndicate based in Southeast Asia, allegedly orchestrating large-scale online scam operations that are believed to using trafficked workers to swindle people globally. This industry has expanded in the past few years, especially in certain areas in Cambodia and Myanmar where countless individuals have been duped by false job adverts and then forced to carry out online fraud, including fake relationship schemes, often under the menace of physical harm. The United States Treasury stated it had taken what it called the most significant measure to date in south-east Asia, targeting 146 people connected to the Prince Group, which the UK also sanctioned. Those sanctioned comprise the head of the alleged network, the accused figure, as well as more than a dozen individuals linked with his business operations throughout south-east Asia and the Pacific. What is the Alleged Syndicate and the Identity of Chen Zhi? Based on official statements, Chen Zhi, thirty-eight, also referred to as “the alias”, is the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group (Prince Group), a multinational business conglomerate based in the Southeast Asian nation which, according to its website, is centered around “property investment, financial services and retail offerings”. On 14 October, US authorities stated that the accused, who is still evading capture, had been indicted for conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to launder money for directing the group's activities of fraud centers using coerced labor across the country. Chen’s rapid ascent to wealth has won him significant political influence, comprising alleged consulting positions to the nation's leader. The individual, 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 Sanctioned? The US justice department claimed individuals had been held against their will in the scam compounds linked with the syndicate and forced to engage in a variety of fraudulent schemes that defrauded massive sums from targets in the US and globally. As part of the investigation into the leader, the US and UK have seized $15 billion (£11.3 billion) in bitcoin and blocked properties in London. The seized assets are believed to comprise a £12m residence on a prestigious street, one of London’s most expensive addresses, a £95m commercial building on Fenchurch Street in the heart of the London's banking area, and several flats in central London. “Now the FBI and partners carried out one of the biggest crackdowns on fraud in history,” said the bureau's head Kash Patel in a announcement about the actions. Other Parties Are Implicated? Based on the US assistant attorney general, the accused was the supposed “chief architect behind a sprawling cyber-fraud empire functioning under the Prince Group umbrella”. He was added to a US sanctions list this month together with more than a dozen other individuals believed to be involved in his commercial network. More than 100 corporate bodies – registered in multiple Asian jurisdictions among others – were also placed on a sanctions list because of suspected connections to the leader. What will the Measures Do? Cambodia’s interior ministry spokesperson told media outlets that the authorities would cooperate with other countries in the legal proceeding against the individual. “We are not protecting persons that violate the law,” the official said. “But it does not mean that we blame the group or its leader of engaging in illegal acts similar to the allegations issued by the United States or UK.” In spite of the unprecedented tranche of sanctions, analysts say the fraud sector is still massive, with the UN estimating in recent years that about 100,000 people were being forced to execute online scams in the nation, as well as at least 120,000 in the neighboring country and many thousands in other Southeast Asian states. Considering the widespread nature of the enterprise in multiple Southeast Asian nations, some fear any apprehensions will leave a vacuum for other transnational groups to swoop in.