Singapore police have frozen more than S$150 million, approximately $106 million, in assets linked to Chen Zhi, the Chinese-born chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group. The enforcement actions on October 30 targeted six properties, bank accounts, securities, cash, a yacht, 11 vehicles, and luxury items, as part of a coordinated global crackdown on one of Asia’s most sophisticated crypto fraud networks. Chen and his associates are currently not in Singapore, but the seizure signals the intensifying international effort to dismantle the sprawling operation.
Chen founded Prince Holding Group in 2015, officially a conglomerate operating in real estate, finance, and hospitality across more than 30 countries. Federal prosecutors allege that beneath this legitimate facade, the network ran large-scale “pig butchering” scams, luring thousands of workers to Cambodia with fake job offers and coercing them to manage fraudulent crypto platforms. U.S. court filings suggest stolen proceeds were laundered through over 100 shell companies worldwide, eventually converted into Bitcoin, with just a fraction traced to U.S. victims totaling $18 million between May 2021 and August 2022. The total estimated losses for American investors alone exceed $16 billion.
The seizure in Singapore coincides with broad international sanctions. In October, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 146 individuals and entities tied to the Prince Group, while the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network accused the Cambodia-based Huione Group of laundering at least $4 billion. The UK also imposed sanctions on Chen and his affiliates. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described these measures as “a global response to a global crime,” highlighting the scale of financial misconduct.
Adding complexity to the investigation, Bitcoin wallets linked to Chen’s past operations, including the Chinese mining pool LuBian, recently moved massive amounts of dormant Bitcoin. Just 24 hours after the U.S. Department of Justice announced indictments, LuBian transferred 11,886 BTC, valued at $1.3 billion, after more than three years of inactivity. One week later, an additional 15,959 BTC, worth $1.83 billion, moved to new addresses, prompting speculation among analysts about defensive repositioning or strategic allocation. LuBian had previously lost over 90% of its holdings in a December 2020 exploit, yet some Bitcoin remained dormant until mid-2024.
U.S. prosecutors allege Chen laundered illicit proceeds through mining operations including Warp Data in Laos and LuBian, generating “clean Bitcoin” that obscured its criminal origins. If DOJ forfeiture claims succeed, the recovered Bitcoin could rank among the largest ever added to U.S. government holdings, potentially valuing between $15 billion and $20 billion according to Treasury estimates.
From a market perspective, these developments reinforce heightened regulatory scrutiny over cross-border crypto operations and signal that authorities are increasingly capable of tracing and seizing illicit digital assets. For investors, the case underscores the importance of transparency and due diligence when engaging with emerging crypto platforms. As authorities continue to pursue Chen and his affiliates across multiple jurisdictions, the situation will likely have lasting implications for both law enforcement practices and the security protocols of large-scale crypto enterprises worldwide.
