INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA – OCTOBER 18: Sixty-four South Koreans who had been detained by Cambodian immigration authorities arrive at Incheon International Airport on a chartered flight in Incheon, South Korea, on October 18, 2025.
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South Korea became the latest country to impose sanctions on Prince Group, a multinational network accused of running large-scale fraud operations across Southeast Asia.
Seoul’s move follows similar actions by the U.S., UK, and Singapore.
In a statement Thursday, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the measures mark the country’s first independent sanctions regarding transnational crime and the “largest single sanction measure in history,” according to a Google translation.
“It shows the government’s firm determination to actively respond to online organized crime in Southeast Asia that is causing serious damage at home and abroad,” the statement added.
Prince Group is accused of operating large-scale online ‘scam centers’ in Cambodia and Myanmar that used trafficked workers to defraud victims around the world. South Korean sanctions target 15 people and 132 entities linked to the network.
The documents detailed the completion of two particular facilities staffed with 1,250 mobile
phones that controlled 76,000 accounts on a popular social media platform.
Source: US Eastern District of New York
South Korea and Cambodia agreed in October to set up a joint task force to help tackle online crimes, after a university student died of torture in August in a scam compound.
Prince Group has denied any wrongdoing. In a Nov. 11 statement issued through U.S. law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, the group called the allegations “baseless.”
“The recent allegations are baseless and appear aimed at justifying the unlawful seizure of assets worth billions of dollars,” the Cambodia-based network said, adding that it had engaged a team of lawyers from the U.S. legal powerhouse.
CNBC has reached out to Prince Group and Boies Schiller Flexner for comment and didn’t immediately hear back.
Crackdown widens
The latest action against Prince Group builds on broader international efforts to curb scam networks in the region. On Oct. 14, the U.S. and UK announced sweeping sanctions on Prince Group, which the U.S. Treasury Department designated as a “Transnational Criminal Organization.”
The U.S. Department of Justice also seized about $15 billion worth of bitcoin on Oct. 14, held in cryptocurrency wallets owned by Cambodian national Chen Zhi, the chairman of Prince Group. Zhi, a 38-year-old Chinese-born emigre who is also known as “Vincent,” was also charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy and remains at large.
Chart of The Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization
U.S. Treasury Department
Another Cambodian financial network, Huione Group, was also banned from the U.S. financial system on the same day, which the U.S. Treasury Department accused in May of colluding with North Korean cybercriminals.
“Huione Group serves as a critical node for laundering proceeds of cyber heists carried out by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and for [Transnational Criminal Organizations] in Southeast Asia perpetrating virtual currency investment scams, commonly known as “pig butchering” scams, among others,” the U.S. Treasury Department said.
Seoul’s sanctions announced Thursday also target the Huione Group.
The British government said the centers in Southeast Asia used fake job adverts to lure workers, who were then forced to commit online fraud, including love scams and crypto scams, under threat of torture.
In October, Singapore had seized over 150 million Singapore dollars of assets linked to the group. The Singapore Police Force said these included bank accounts, securities accounts and cash.
