The EU imposed sanctions on an alleged head of a crime syndicate that operated in Cambodia and an armed Myanmar group over cyberscams targeting victims worldwide.
Brussels said it was placing “multi-billion-dollar conglomerate” Prince Holding Group and its chairman Chen Zhi on an assets freeze and visa ban blacklist for allegedly building “scam centre compounds in Cambodia and Myanmar through different front companies”.
“These scam centres perpetrate cryptocurrency investment scams and other fraudulent schemes,” the EU said.
“Furthermore, inside these centres, many victims from different countries are trafficked or lured under false pretences, held against their will, and forced to carry out online scams targeting victims around the world.”
Prince Group’s China-born founder Chen Zhi was extradited by Phnom Penh to China in January, after his Cambodian conglomerate was sanctioned by the US and UK governments months earlier over its alleged involvement in cyberscams.
The EU also said it was blacklisting Myanmar armed group Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) for “facilitating large-scale scam centres, by allowing these illegal compounds to operate under its protection”.
“Soldiers of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army have been reported to participate in violence against victims of human trafficking trapped inside the compound,” the EU said. — AFP
