Hong Kong Freezes $354M Linked to Cambodian Scam Kingpin

Hong Kong authorities have frozen assets worth HK$2.75 billion (approximately $354 million) believed to be proceeds of crime connected to a Cambodian conglomerate whose founder is accused of operating forced labour camps, police announced.

The action follows a US Justice Department indictment unsealed last month against Chen Zhi, the founder of Prince Holding Group, which is alleged to serve as a front for “one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal organisations.”

The move by Hong Kong law enforcement mirrors similar actions recently taken in Taiwan and Singapore.

In recent years, cyberscam hubs have proliferated across Southeast Asia, enticing foreigners to work in scam facilities that defraud people through online romance schemes and cryptocurrency investment cons.

Hong Kong police said on Tuesday that the asset freeze came after an investigation into “a syndicate suspected of involvement in international cross-border telecommunications fraud and money laundering.”

The frozen assets, valued at around HK$2.75 billion, are believed to include the proceeds of crime, encompassing “cash, stocks, and funds held by individuals or companies,” the authorities added.

Prince Holding Group was the primary target of these law enforcement measures, a police source told AFP. No arrests had been made in Hong Kong as of Tuesday afternoon.

Separately, Taiwanese investigators reported that 25 people had been arrested in connection with the group, and authorities there had seized $145 million in assets. Singapore police also seized more than $115 million in assets linked to Chen last week.

Last month, US and UK authorities announced sanctions freezing Chen’s businesses and properties in both countries. The US indictment charges Chen with fraud and money laundering involving Bitcoin valued at roughly $15 billion.

Both countries allege that Chen directed forced labour operations across Cambodia, confining thousands of workers within compounds surrounded by high walls and barbed wire.

Under threat of violence, many were compelled to carry out “pig butchering” scams—cryptocurrency investment schemes that cultivate trust with victims over time before defrauding them of their funds.