The U.S. Treasury sanctioned four individuals and 41 entities on November 5 that it says form the offshore corporate network of Prince Group, the Cambodia-based conglomerate it has designated a transnational criminal organization.
Key takeaways
- OFAC designated 45 targets on November 5, 2026: four individuals and 41 entities Treasury says help Prince Group conceal assets and evade earlier sanctions.
- The new targets span the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia, and include Qiu Yong, Zhao Mengyao, He Yujing and Visal Pang.
- Prince Group denies the allegations; the U.S. action was coordinated with the FBI and the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force, which reports $580 million in crypto seizures.
Treasury’s press release says the Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted the offshore companies, nominee owners and administrators that it says helped Prince Group executives conceal assets and evade the sanctions imposed in October 2025 and June 2026. The 41 entities are corporate vehicles spread across the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia.
Treasury says Prince Group is accused of generating billions of dollars through cyber-enabled fraud, including digital asset investment scams and romance scams, often run from Southeast Asian compounds using trafficked and coerced workers. Prince Group has denied the allegations.
The four newly sanctioned individuals are Qiu Yong, Zhao Mengyao, He Yujing and Visal Pang. Treasury says Qiu Yong controls a network of British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong companies on Prince Group’s behalf, including money lenders and wine businesses, and has worked for a company controlled by Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi. Zhao Mengyao serves as Qiu’s personal assistant and as secretary and co-director of several Hong Kong companies he ultimately controls.
He Yujing is the wife of Prince Group executive Chen Bo, who received his own U.S. designation on June 23, 2026. Treasury says Chen Bo transferred ownership of his Tokyo mansion to her after the October 2025 sanctions. Visal Pang controls 11 Cambodian companies spanning construction, logistics, a hotel and a so-called super app, several co-directed with Chen Bo, according to Treasury. Eleven companies still controlled by Chen Bo were also sanctioned, including Prince International Airlines and CB General Insurance.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the press release that cyber scam syndicates “continue to steal billions of dollars from American victims while relying on sophisticated international business networks to launder their illicit proceeds” .
OFAC separately designated Chui Kok Wa, a Malaysian national based in Madagascar, who it says led a network that defrauded Americans of more than $400,000 in digital assets through fake NFT schemes. Justice Department charges in the same enforcement wave reference approximately $516,695 stolen from 74 crypto wallets belonging to around 800 victims; the two figures cover different scopes and are not reconciled.
The November 5 action was coordinated with the FBI, the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force, which has reported $580 million in crypto seizures and freezes, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska, with help from British Virgin Islands and UK authorities, according to Treasury. Cambodia moved against the conglomerate before the new designations, with courts freezing nearly US$1 billion in Prince Group assets in an earlier crackdown. In September, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported about $12.7 billion in financial activity linked to suspected crypto investment scams, largely tied to Southeast Asian scam compounds.
The designations block the sanctioned persons’ U.S. property and require reporting to OFAC, and entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons are also blocked under the agency’s ownership rule.
