Prince Group (Chen Zhi)
A Cambodia-based conglomerate that U.S. prosecutors call one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organizations. Per an October 2025 DOJ indictment, founder Chen Zhi ran forced-labor compounds running 'pig-butchering' crypto investment scams; the DOJ seized ~127,271 BTC (~$15B) — its largest-ever forfeiture.
Also known as: Prince Group, Prince Holding Group, Chen Zhi, Vincent, Jin Bei Group, Byex Exchange
Note: Chen Zhi is charged and remains at large; the allegations below are from the DOJ indictment and have not been adjudicated.
Overview
Prince Holding Group (Prince Group) is a Cambodian conglomerate, founded and chaired by Chen Zhi (a.k.a. "Vincent"), that publicly presented itself as a real-estate, financial- and consumer-services business. According to an indictment unsealed in Brooklyn on October 14, 2025, Chen and top executives secretly built it into a transnational criminal organization operating at least ten "scam compounds" across Cambodia. [1][2]
Pig-butchering and forced labor
The DOJ alleges that workers — many trafficked and held against their will — were forced to run "pig-butchering" schemes: contacting victims online, building trust, and luring them into fake cryptocurrency investments that stole billions of dollars worldwide. Chen is charged with wire-fraud and money-laundering conspiracies. [1][2]
Record seizure
Alongside the indictment, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture action against approximately 127,271 bitcoin — worth about $15 billion — described as the largest forfeiture action in DOJ history. The UK and US also sanctioned Prince Group and linked entities (e.g. Jin Bei Group, Byex Exchange). [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
People & entities involved
Sources (2)
See also
- Blockchain Terminal (BCT)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
- Dropil (DROP)TokensAn ICO for the DROP token built around a fake 'Dex' trading bot. The SEC said it raised ~$1.9M while claiming $54M from 34,000 investors, and that the founders falsified evidence during the probe. Founders Jeremy McAlpine and Zachary Matar pleaded guilty to securities fraud (36 and 30 months).
- CluCoin (CLU)Tokens
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