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The UK and US have enforced measures on a global syndicate operating from Southeast Asia, allegedly orchestrating large-scale internet fraud schemes that are believed to exploiting trafficked workers to defraud individuals globally.

This industry has expanded in the past few years, particularly in certain areas in Cambodia and Myanmar where countless individuals have been duped by false job adverts and then forced to commit online fraud, including romance scams, often under the threat of physical harm.

The US treasury department stated it had taken what it described as the most significant measure to date in Southeast Asia, focusing on over a hundred individuals connected to the so-called organization, which the UK also sanctioned.

Those sanctioned include the leader of the Prince group, Chen Zhi, as well as numerous individuals linked with his commercial activities throughout south-east Asia and the Pacific.

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What is the Alleged Syndicate and the Identity of Chen Zhi?

According to official statements, Chen Zhi, thirty-eight, also known as “the alias”, is the leader and establisher of Prince Holding Group (the group), a global corporate entity based in the Southeast Asian nation which, as per its online presence, is focused on “real estate development, banking operations and consumer services”.

On October 14, American officials stated that Chen, who is still evading capture, had been charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy for overseeing the group's activities of forced labour scam compounds throughout Cambodia.

His swift rise to riches has gained him substantial clout, including alleged consulting positions to Cambodia’s prime minister. Chen, born in China in 1987, is believed to have acquired nationality in Vanuatu and Cyprus, and is also a citizen of Cambodia.

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Why have They Been Sanctioned?

The US justice department alleged individuals had been forcibly detained in the scam compounds connected to the syndicate and made to participate in a range of fraudulent schemes that stole billions of dollars from victims in the US and worldwide.

As part of the probe into Chen, the United States and UK have seized $15 billion (£11.3bn) in cryptocurrency and blocked London assets.

The seized assets are believed to comprise a £12m residence on Avenue Road, one of London’s most expensive addresses, a £95m office block on a key financial avenue in the heart of the London's banking area, and multiple apartments in downtown London.

“Today the Federal Bureau of Investigation and allies executed one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history,” said the bureau's head Kash Patel in a announcement about the measures.

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Other Parties Are Implicated?

Based on the senior justice official, Chen was the supposed “mastermind behind a vast cyber-fraud empire functioning under the group's banner”. He was placed on a US sanctions list this October together with over a dozen other individuals believed to be involved in his business empire.

More than 100 corporate bodies – registered in multiple Asian jurisdictions among others – were also added to a blacklist because of suspected connections to the leader.

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Impact of the Sanctions Do?

Cambodia’s interior ministry spokesperson told news agencies that the government would cooperate with foreign nations in the case against the individual.

“We are not shielding individuals that violate the law,” the official said. “But it does not mean that we are accusing Prince Group or Chen Zhi of committing crimes like the claims made by the United States or UK.”

In spite of the unprecedented tranche of sanctions, analysts say the scam industry is still enormous, with the UN calculating in recent years that about a hundred thousand individuals were being forced to execute internet fraud in Cambodia, as well as at least 120,000 in Myanmar and tens of thousands in Thailand, Laos and the Philippines.

Considering the widespread nature of the enterprise in multiple Southeast Asian nations, some worry any arrests will leave a vacuum for other transnational groups to swoop in.