In a US-UK crackdown on alleged con artists, $14 billion worth of bitcoin was seized.

  

The Prince Group, the founder of a Cambodian business empire, has been accused by the US government of being the mastermind of a massive cryptocurrency scam that involved forced labor camps. The US government has seized more than $14 billion (£10.5 billion) in bitcoin. UK and Cambodian national Chen Zhi was charged on Tuesday in New York for allegedly engaging in a wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering scheme.

 Mr Chen's businesses were also sanctioned by the US and the UK as part of a joint operation.  His network's assets, according to the UK government, have been frozen, including 19 London properties, one of which is estimated to be worth nearly 133 million pounds. The BBC has contacted the Prince Group for comment.

 US prosecutors said it was one the biggest financial takedowns in history and the largest ever seizure of bitcoin, with approximately 127,271 bitcoin being held by US government.

 According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Mr. Chen, who is still in hiding, is accused of being the mastermind behind a "sprawling cyber-fraud empire" that operated under his multi-national company, the Prince Group. According to the group's website, its businesses include property development as well as consumer and financial services. But the DOJ alleges that it runs one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organisations.

 Unwitting victims were contacted online and convinced to transfer cryptocurrency based on false promises that the funds would be invested and generate profits, the DOJ said.

 According to court documents seen by the BBC, the company was accused of building and operating at least ten scam compounds throughout Cambodia under Mr. Chen's direction. Prosecutors stated that Mr. Chen was accused of managing the compounds, which were specifically constructed to reach as many victims as possible. His accomplices allegedly procured millions of mobile phone numbers and set up "phone farms" to conduct call centre scams, according to the court documents, dated 8 October.

 According to the documents, two of these facilities had 1,250 mobile phones that controlled approximately 76,000 social media accounts for scams. Prosecutors said Prince Group documents included tips on building rapport with victims, advising workers not to use profile photos of women who were "too beautiful" so that the accounts would look more genuine.

 The Prince Group was described by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg as a "criminal enterprise built on human suffering." He claimed that it also trafficked workers who were confined in compounds that resembled prisons and forced to conduct online scams that targeted thousands of victims worldwide. Mr Chen and his accomplices allegedly used the criminal proceeds for luxury travel and entertainment, said the DOJ.

 According to the department, they also made "extravagant" purchases like private jets, rare artwork, and watches. They also bought a Picasso painting from an auction house in New York City. If convicted, Mr Chen faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in jail.

 Mr. Chen and his associates are alleged to have established businesses in the British Virgin Islands and invested in UK real estate in Britain. The UK foreign office stated on Tuesday that the assets of his network include a £100 million office building in central London, a £12 million mansion in North London, and seventeen flats in the city. He is now barred from the financial system of the UK as a result of being sanctioned as part of a joint operation with authorities in the United States. The Prince Group has also been sanctioned in the US and labelled as a criminal organisation.

 They were "ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money", UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

 Cooper said: "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 foreign office said Mr Chen and the Prince Group built casinos and compounds used as scam centres and laundered the proceeds.

 Four businesses linked to the alleged scams - The Prince Group, Jin Bei Group, Golden Fortune Resorts World and Byex Exchange - have also been sanctioned, said the foreign office.

 Two scam centres allegedly run by Jin Bei Group and Golden Fortune Resorts were named earlier this year in an Amnesty International report on the use of forced labour and torture in Cambodian scam centres.

 People working in scam centres are often foreign nationals lured by the promise of a legitimate job, and then forced to carry out scams under threat of torture, the foreign office said.

 According to the foreign office, these con artists operate on an "industrial scale," including in the United Kingdom. They use tricks like pretending to be in a relationship to get victims to fall for their schemes. Fraud Minister Lord Hanson said: "Fraudsters prey on the most vulnerable by stealing life savings, ruining trust, and devastating lives.  We will not tolerate this."