A network that operates illegal scam centres, which trick victims
across the world out of substantial sums of money and torture
their trafficked workers, is today (14 October) sanctioned by the
UK and US governments.
Across Southeast Asia, scam centres are using sophisticated
schemes, including scams in which people are lured into fake
romantic relationships, to defraud victims on an industrial
scale, including in the UK. Those conducting the scams are often
trafficked foreign nationals, trapped and forced to carry out
online fraud under threat of torture.
As part of the crackdown, a £12 million mansion in North London,
owned by a multi-national network responsible for using forced
labour to conduct online scams, has been frozen.
The leader of the network, Chen Zhi, and his web of enablers have
incorporated their businesses in the British Virgin Islands and
invested in the London property market, including a £12 million
mansion on Avenue Road in North London, a £100 million office
building on Fenchurch Street in the City of London, and seventeen
flats on New Oxford Street and in Nine Elms in South
London.
The sanctions will freeze these businesses and properties with
immediate effect, locking Chen and his network out of the UK's
financial system.
Foreign Secretary said:
The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining
the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to
store their money.
Together with our US allies, we are taking decisive action to
combat the growing transnational threat posed by this network –
upholding human rights, protecting British nationals and keeping
dirty money off our streets.”
The individuals and entities targeted today include:
-
The Prince Group and its Chairman Chen Zhi – The Prince Group
is a high-profile, multi-billion-pound conglomerate
with extensive business activities across Cambodia and
beyond. Chen and the Prince Group have constructed casinos
and compounds used as scam centres, maintain links to their
operations through corporate proxies, and are implicated in
laundering the proceeds.
-
Jin Bei Group – A leisure and entertainment business linked
to the Prince Group, whose properties include a flagship
seven-storey hotel and casino in the Cambodian tourist hub of
Sihanoukville, as well as multiple scam centres.
-
Golden Fortune Resorts World Ltd. – The company behind a
large scam compound on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, built by
a Prince Group subsidiary and disguised as a “technology
park”.
-
Byex Exchange – A cryptocurrency platform with links to Jin
Bei and Prince Group.
Scam centres in Cambodia, Myanmar and across the region use fake
job adverts to attract foreign nationals to disused casinos or
purpose-built compounds, where they are forced to carry out
online fraud under threat of torture. Scams often involve
building online relationships to convince targets to ‘invest'
increasingly large sums of money into fraudulent cryptocurrency
investment schemes. The proceeds are then laundered using a
sophisticated financial ecosystem that includes seemingly
legitimate front businesses and online gambling platforms.
Today's sanctions are being coordinated with sanctions by the US
to ensure maximum impact, and follow extensive investigations by
the FCDO and the United States' Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC).
Fraud Minister said:
Fraudsters prey on the most vulnerable by stealing life savings,
ruining trust, and devastating lives. We will not tolerate this.
These sanctions prove our determination to stop those who profit
from this activity, hold offenders accountable, and keep dirty
money out of the UK. Through our new, expanded Fraud Strategy and
the upcoming Global Fraud Summit, we will go even further to
disrupt corrupt networks and protect the public from shameless
criminals.
The City of London's Action Fraud team is working to protect
British nationals from fraud. More information on staying safe
can be found on the Government's Stop! Think Fraud campaign page
at https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/
