Singapore Freezes $150 Million Linked to Bitcoin Fraud Kingpin Chen Zhi Amid Global Crackdown

In one of the largest crypto-related enforcement actions in Southeast Asia, Singapore has frozen more than S$150 million in assets tied to Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi, the chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group, after allegations he masterminded a $14.4 billion Bitcoin laundering empire spanning continents.

The October 30 operation targeted six luxury properties, bank accounts, securities portfolios, cash reserves, a yacht, 11 vehicles, and high-end liquor collections belonging to Chen and his associates, who are reportedly outside Singapore.

The move follows sweeping international indictments filed by U.S. and U.K. authorities earlier in the month, accusing Chen’s network of using forced labor and crypto scams to build one of Asia’s most sophisticated transnational fraud operations.

Founded in 2015, Prince Holding Group was presented as a legitimate conglomerate spanning real estate, finance, and hospitality across more than 30 countries. Yet, prosecutors allege it secretly evolved into a criminal syndicate, deceiving thousands of workers with fake job offers and trapping them in heavily guarded compounds in Cambodia where they were forced to execute “pig butchering” scams — elaborate frauds that groom victims online before draining their crypto investments through fake trading platforms.

Court filings reveal the stolen proceeds were laundered through a maze of over 100 shell companies, crypto exchanges, and mining operations before being converted into Bitcoin. Investigators traced at least $18 million from over 250 U.S. victims routed through entities in Brooklyn and Queens — just a sliver of the billions that eventually flowed back to Cambodia.

In response, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 146 individuals and entities linked to the Prince Group, while the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) accused Cambodia-based Huione Group of laundering at least $4 billion in illegal proceeds.

“This is a global response to a global crime,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, estimating that American victims alone lost over $16 billion. The U.K. government also joined the sanctions push, freezing assets connected to Chen and several affiliates.

The case deepened further when blockchain analysts detected the reactivation of long-dormant Bitcoin wallets linked to LuBian, a Chinese mining pool previously associated with Chen. Within days of the DOJ’s announcement, LuBian wallets transferred 11,886 BTC, followed by another 15,959 BTC to multiple addresses. The transactions — LuBian’s first movements in over three years — sparked speculation over whether they were defensive maneuvers or signs of an active laundering network still in motion.

According to Arkham Intelligence, LuBian was once among the world’s top mining pools before suffering a catastrophic breach in December 2020, losing 127,426 BTC due to private key vulnerabilities. The pool vanished by early 2021, with 90% of its holdings gone and most stolen Bitcoin remaining dormant until mid-2024. Prosecutors allege Chen’s syndicate used LuBian and Laos-based Warp Data to generate “clean Bitcoin,” effectively washing illicit funds through mining operations.

If successful, the DOJ’s forfeiture claims could mark one of the largest Bitcoin seizures in U.S. history, potentially expanding America’s already substantial crypto reserves — estimated between $15 billion and $20 billion as of August 2025.

Ultimately, Chen Zhi’s case illustrates how crypto’s promise of decentralization can still be exploited by organized crime, turning mining farms and blockchain anonymity into tools for global fraud. Yet it also highlights a shift: regulators are finally coordinating across borders and blockchains. The message is clear — as crypto matures, the days of laundering Bitcoin in plain sight may be coming to an end.