Who Is Chen Zhi and the So-Called Crime Network, Targeted by the United States and United Kingdom of Large-Scale Scam Operations?
The United Kingdom and US have enforced measures on a global syndicate based in south-east Asia, allegedly orchestrating extensive internet fraud schemes that are believed to using trafficked workers to swindle individuals around the world.
This criminal enterprise has expanded in recent years, especially in certain areas in Myanmar and Cambodia where hundreds of thousands have been duped by false job adverts and then forced to commit online fraud, such as fake relationship schemes, sometimes under the menace of torture.
The US treasury department stated it had taken what it described as the largest action ever in south-east Asia, focusing on 146 people associated with the Prince Group, which the UK also sanctioned.
Those sanctioned include the head of the alleged network, Chen Zhi, as well as numerous persons connected to his business operations throughout south-east Asia and the Pacific.
Understanding the Prince Group and Who is Chen Zhi?
According to official statements, the individual in question, 38, also referred to as “Vincent”, is the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group (the group), a global corporate entity based in Cambodia which, according to its website, is centered around “real estate development, financial services and consumer services”.
On 14 October, US authorities stated that Chen, who remains at large, had been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering conspiracy 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, including alleged consulting positions to the nation's leader. The individual, a native of China from 1987, is thought to have bought citizenship in Cyprus and Vanuatu, and is also a Cambodian national.
Reasons Behind They Been Penalized?
The US justice department alleged individuals had been held against their will in the scam compounds linked with the syndicate and forced to participate in a variety of deceptive practices that defrauded billions of dollars from victims in the United States and globally.
As part of the probe into the leader, the United States and UK have confiscated $15bn (£11.3 billion) in cryptocurrency and frozen properties in London.
The seized assets are believed to comprise a £12m mansion on Avenue Road, one of London’s most expensive addresses, a £95 million office block on Fenchurch Street in the heart of the City of London’s financial district, and multiple apartments in downtown London.
“Now the Federal Bureau of Investigation and allies carried out one of the biggest crackdowns on fraud in recorded time,” said FBI director the official in a announcement about the measures.
Other Parties Are Implicated?
According to the senior justice official, the accused was the alleged “mastermind behind a sprawling digital scam network operating under the Prince Group umbrella”. He was placed on a American blacklist this October together with over a dozen other individuals believed to be involved in his business empire.
More than 100 business entities – based in Cambodia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan among others – were also added to a blacklist because of alleged links to the leader.
Impact of the Sanctions Do?
Cambodia’s interior ministry spokesperson told news agencies that the government would cooperate with other countries in the legal proceeding against Chen.
“We do not protecting persons that violate the law,” the official said. “But it does not mean that we blame Prince Group or Chen Zhi of committing crimes like the claims issued by the US or the UK.”
Despite the historic set of penalties, experts say the fraud sector is still enormous, with the UN calculating in recent years that about 100,000 people were being forced to carry out internet fraud in the nation, as well as at least 120,000 in the neighboring country and many thousands in Thailand, Laos and the Philippines.
Considering the widespread nature of the enterprise in multiple south-east Asian countries, some fear any arrests will leave a vacuum for other transnational groups to take over.