US Sanctions Prince Group and Seizes Huione Infrastructure Over Scam Operations

The United States imposed a new round of sanctions on Cambodia’s Prince Group network, targeting nine individuals and 26 companies over alleged involvement in cyber scams, forced labor, human trafficking, and human rights abuses tied to scam compounds in Southeast Asia. Treasury identified Hu Xiaowei, described as Prince Group’s second-in-command, along with figures including Chen Bo, Brendon Luo, Qiu Wei Ren, and Fang Zhizhen, and entities such as CCU Commercial Bank PLC and White Horse Hotel Management Group. U.S. officials said the operations lured workers with fake job offers, confiscated passports, and coerced victims through debt bondage, violence, and threats into running online fraud schemes, including digital-asset investment scams that contributed to at least $10 billion in losses to Americans in 2024.

The Justice Department also seized a cloud computing account used as backend infrastructure by subsidiaries of Cambodia-based Huione Group, which authorities described as a major criminal marketplace and laundering hub linked to scam centers and cyber-enabled theft. Officials said the infrastructure supported Huione Guarantee or Haowang Guarantee, which allegedly facilitated money laundering, stolen-data sales, malware-enabled theft, cryptocurrency escrow services, and other criminal activity. The enforcement action came as Japanese police arrested Hu Xiaowei in Osaka on suspicion of filing a fraudulent address change while living under the Cypriot identity "Hu Shi" and seeking permanent residency, adding to mounting international pressure on Prince Group and associated networks, which have denied the allegations and said their businesses are legitimate.