EU Sanctions Prince Group, DKBA, and Others Over Southeast Asia Scam Compounds

The European Union imposed sanctions on seven individuals and three entities in Cambodia and Myanmar over alleged roles in industrial-scale online scam operations and related human rights abuses. The measures target Prince Holding Group and its chairman Chen Zhi, Jin Bei Group and chairman Zhu Zhongbiao, and Myanmar’s Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and several senior figures. According to the EU, the sanctioned actors facilitated or operated scam compounds tied to romance-investment and cryptocurrency fraud, particularly in hubs such as Sihanoukville in Cambodia and Myawaddy near the Thailand border.

EU officials said the sanctions respond not only to cyber-enabled fraud but also to trafficking, forced labor, torture, and abuse inside scam centers where workers were allegedly coerced into running criminal schemes. The restrictions include asset freezes and travel bans, and follow earlier U.S. sanctions against people and companies allegedly associated with Prince Group. Prince Group has denied the allegations, calling them unfounded, but the EU said the action is intended to disrupt the networks, protect victims, and hold those enabling the compounds accountable.