The United States has imposed sanctions on dozens of companies and individuals linked to an alleged Cambodia-based cyberscam group and a network in Madagascar that targeted Americans.
The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Thursday on four people and 41 companies tied to the Prince Group, a Cambodian firm accused of running a billion-dollar scam operation.
The country has emerged as a hub for crime syndicates running fake romantic relationship and cryptocurrency investment schemes in which scammers – some willing, others trafficked – defraud internet users around the world.
But under pressure from several countries including the United States, Britain and China, Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down on the industry.
The four newly sanctioned individuals include Qiu Yong, a senior Prince Group official who allegedly ran multiple companies in the British Virgin Islands that control a network of Hong Kong firms “involved in money lending and other business ventures”, the Treasury said in a statement.
Qiu, who has passports from Cambodia, St Lucia and Turkiye, helped Prince Group launder its funds through money-lending services and business ventures like wine companies, it said.
Prince Group’s China-born founder Chen Zhi was extradited by Phnom Penh to China in January, months after the conglomerate was sanctioned by the US and UK governments for scamming.
Cambodian authorities have said he is among at least six Prince Group ringleaders arrested, while casinos, buildings and other real estate valued at nearly US$1bil (RM4.04bil) have been frozen.
The US Treasury also sanctioned Malaysian Chui Kok Wa for his alleged role as the leader of a scam network in the African island nation of Madagascar.
The scammers led by Chui exploited cyber-enabled technologies, including cryptocurrencies, “to defraud numerous Americans of over US$400,000 (RM1.6mil) equivalent.” — AFP
