EU freezes assets of Prince Holding and bans DKBA over global cyber-scam operations

On July 30, the European Union imposed an assets-freeze and visa-ban on Prince Holding Group and its chairman Chen Zhi, alleging the company built scam centres in Cambodia and Myanmar through front firms. According to the EU, these compounds run cryptocurrency investment scams and other fraudulent schemes while also trafficking victims who are forced to execute online fraud against global targets. In parallel, the EU added the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, an armed group controlling parts of the Myanmar-Thailand border, to its blacklist for shielding the scam sites and assaulting trafficked victims.

Chen Zhi, a China-born entrepreneur, was extradited from Phnom Penh to China in January after earlier sanctions by the United States and Britain. Cambodian authorities, under pressure from several nations, claim to be cracking down on the illicit industry that has turned the country into a hub for fake-romance and crypto scams. The DKBA had already been sanctioned by Washington in November. These coordinated sanctions aim to disrupt transnational cyber-crime networks and deter human-trafficking linked to online fraud.