By Sam Tabahriti
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain and the United States on Tuesday sanctioned a Southeast Asia-based multinational network accused of operating large-scale online ‘scam centres’ that used trafficked workers to defraud victims around the world.
The British government said the centres, located in Cambodia, Myanmar and across the region, used fake job adverts to lure workers who were then forced to commit online fraud under threat of torture.
This included luring victims into fake romantic relationships before persuading them to invest large sums into fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms.
“The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money,” said British foreign minister Yvette Cooper.
The U.S. Treasury Department said it had taken what it described as the largest action ever in Southeast Asia, targeting 146 people within the Prince Group criminal organization, which Britain also sanctioned.
Britain’s sanctions targeted six entities and six individuals, including Prince Group’s chair, Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, who the U.S. and U.K. accused of having overseen the construction of compounds used for online scams.
Chen, 38, was indicted on October 8 in a Brooklyn federal court on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, according to court papers made public on Tuesday.
U.S. prosecutors said Chen and his associates ran forced-labour camps in Cambodia where people were held against their will to carry out cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes. Chen then allegedly laundered the funds through online gambling and cryptocurrency mining companies.
Prosecutors said they had seized around 127,271 bitcoin – or $14.2 billion – in funds traceable from the crimes. They were now seeking court approval to take permanent custody of the bitcoin, in what they said was the largest forfeiture action in Department of Justice history.
Prince Group and Chen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti and Luc Cohen in New York Editing by William James, Michael Holden and Lisa Shumaker)
