TRM Blog | TRM Labs breaks down the elements of the U.S. Department of Justice indictment of Chen Zhi, founder of Prince Holding Group. Chen Zhi was charged with multiple crimes for directing his company’s operation of forced-labor scam compounds across Cambodia.

The Charges, Forfeiture, and Sanctions

The DOJ charged Zhi with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy for directing Prince Group’s operation of scam compounds.
The DOJ filed a civil forfeiture complaint for bitcoin valued at $15 billion. The filing marks the largest forfeiture action in U.S. history.
The U.S. Treasury Department worked with the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to sanction 146 targets linked to the Prince Group.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) finalized its Section 311 order against the Huione Group, cutting off the organization — and its intermediaries — from the US dollar system.

Prince Group’s Fraud Empire

The Prince Group, operating as a real estate and investment conglomerate, is described as “one of the largest transnational criminal organizations in Asia.”
The network operated more than 10 scam compounds across Cambodia, forcing imprisoned and trafficked workers to run “pig-butchering” investment scams targeting victims across the world. Workers who did not meet standards were physically abused.
By 2018, Prince Group was earning more than USD 30 million per day from cryptofraud schemes and related activities.
Beyond Cambodia, the complaint describes real estate projects and shell companies that created a money-laundering pipeline across Singapore, Hong Kong, Palau, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and the United States.

The Bitcoin Forfeiture

According to TRM analysis, the funds can be traced through on-chain analysis to a December 2020 movement long referred to as the Lubian Hack.
After years of dormancy, the same wallets showed renewed activity in June and July 2024, correlating with the DOJ’s seizure operations.
According to TRM, the majority of funds from the blockchain addresses listed in the indictment consolidate into a single cluster holding.
The complaint details how Prince Group laundered billions of dollars through crypto and shell structures.

Bold Corruption and Violence

The complaint alleges Chen Zhi and his co-conspirators used political influence to shield the scam compounds from scrutiny.
Prince Group embedded its operations in jurisdictions unwilling or unable to cooperate with US authorities.
Ledgers recovered by investigators reveal the depth and precision of the bribery network.
Chen approved physical punishments of his own subordinates suspected of disloyalty or theft. Violence against trafficked workers is common within the compounds.

Get the full post and data visualizations: Operation Prince: Inside the Global Effort That Led to the Largest Forfeiture in US History