More than £130 million worth of London property has been seized as part of an international crackdown on a criminal network accused of running brutal scam compounds in Cambodia and Myanmar.
Two men Chen Zhi and Qiu Wei Ren were added to the UK sanctions list on Tuesday, alongside several companies connected to them, in a coordinated move between the UK and the US to target global financial fraud networks.
According to the Foreign Office, Chen allegedly led an international scam operation that exploited thousands of victims through fake online romances and cryptocurrency investment schemes. Many of the fraud centres, it said, were staffed by people subjected to forced labour and torture.
Chen, originally from China, heads the Prince Group, a multibillion-pound conglomerate registered in the British Virgin Islands. The Foreign Office described it as a major developer of casinos and compounds across Cambodia that were used as scam centres and alleged the group laundered the profits through high-value property.
Chen, who reportedly holds Cambodian, Cypriot and Hong Kong citizenship, is believed to have worked with five associates to funnel proceeds into London’s property market, including a £12 million mansion in north London and a £100 million office block on Fenchurch Street. In total, 19 assets have been frozen by the government, including 17 luxury flats in New Oxford Street and Nine Elms, south London.
The United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 people are currently held in scam compounds across Cambodia many of them trafficked or lured by fake job offers and forced to carry out cyber fraud under threat of violence or torture.
The Foreign Office also named Qiu Wei Ren, another Chinese national with over £19 million in London property, as a key figure in the network.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described Chen and Qiu as the “masterminds” behind “horrific scam centres” that exploited forced labour to deceive victims worldwide.
“They are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money,” she said. “Together with our US allies, we are taking decisive action to combat this growing transnational threat upholding human rights, protecting British nationals, and keeping dirty money off our streets.”
The sanctions extend to four companies linked to the network: Prince Group, Jin Bei Group, Golden Fortune Resorts World Ltd, and Byex Exchange. Jin Bei Group and Golden Fortune Resorts are believed to operate compounds directly referenced in an Amnesty International report this year, which exposed the use of torture and forced labour in Cambodian scam operations.
Other sanctioned individuals include Ing Dara and Zhu Zhongbiao, both Cambodian nationals tied to the Jin Bei Group; Lei Bo, a Chinese director; and Guy Chhay, a Cambodian businessman. The Uni More Group and Heng Xin Real Estate Group, both linked to the same network, have also been sanctioned.
In the US, the Treasury Department has designated the Prince Group a transnational criminal organisation and charged Chen with a series of offences that could result in up to 40 years in prison.
Ryan Sweetnam, of CEL Solicitors, which handles hundreds of crypto fraud cases monthly, welcomed the sanctions but warned the fight is far from over:
“This shows how deeply organised scam networks have embedded themselves in the global financial system and London’s property market is no exception,” he said. “The use of offshore jurisdictions to hide criminal proceeds remains one of the biggest challenges. Coordinated sanctions are an important step, but civil law reforms are still needed to help victims recover their stolen funds.”
Culled from The Times
