US Expands Sanctions on Prince Group Over Southeast Asian Scam Network

The Treasury Department’s latest action expands on 2025 designations against the Cambodian conglomerate, which maintains diverse interests from banking to aviation. Officials allege the group relies on the Huione Group to launder proceeds from cyber heists and investment fraud. Treasury is moving to update its regulatory framework to include HPay Service PLC, a move aimed at cutting off the financial conduits used to siphon funds from U.S. victims.

Simultaneously, the Justice Department seized a cloud computing account utilized by Huione subsidiaries. This infrastructure served as a technical backbone for Huione Guarantee, a platform operating on Telegram to facilitate the sale of stolen credit cards, identity theft, and human trafficking. FBI Assistant Director Brett Leatherman noted that this seizure, part of Operation Riptide, disrupts the backend tools used by criminals to move and conceal illicit profits.

Key figures targeted include Hu Xiaowei, identified as the second-in-command to Prince Group leader Chen Zhi. Authorities state Hu manages a network of shell companies in the British Virgin Islands, including Future King Inc., to obscure the movement of assets. Chen Zhi, who was previously sanctioned, remains in Chinese custody following his extradition in January. The Prince Group did not respond to requests for comment, and its official website appears to have been taken offline.