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USA and UK strike back: Gigantic cybercrime in their sights!
US and UK launch joint operation against cybercriminal network that has caused $16.6 billion in losses.
USA and UK strike back: Gigantic cybercrime in their sights!
The United States and the United Kingdom launched a joint operation to combat cybercrime in Southeast Asia on October 16, 2025. This initiative aims to crack down on online investment scams and money laundering that have resulted in a huge loss of over $16.6 billion. The US Treasury Department has announced that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are working in close collaboration with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
As part of this collaboration, OFAC has imposed sanctions on several individuals and entities associated with the Cambodia-based Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization (Prince Group TCO). This organization is involved in fraudulent online investment schemes and so-called “pig butchering” operations, which are also associated with human trafficking and modern slavery. The Prince Group TCO operates in a wide range of transnational crimes, including sextortion, money laundering, fraud, corruption, illegal online gambling and industrial human trafficking.
US-UK collaboration
In addition to the sanctions against Prince Group TCO, the UK FCDO has taken action against its subsidiary, Prince Holding Group. The group's chairman and CEO, Chen Zhi, who was also charged in the US, is the focus of the investigation. “We will not allow foreign fraudsters to continue harming Americans,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. His ministry does everything it can to protect citizens from such threats.
FinCEN has also taken further steps to prevent Huione Group, an organization also based in Cambodia, from using the U.S. financial system. The Huione Group is suspected of laundering proceeds from virtual currency frauds and thefts while linked to malicious actors from the People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as other transnational criminal organizations in Southeast Asia.
The impact of cybercrime
The joint US-UK operation comes at a crucial time. The rise in fraudulent online transactions has reached alarming proportions and public authorities are increasingly confronted with the challenges posed by these internationally networked crime organizations. International cooperation is therefore considered essential to combat the growing threat of cybercrime.
Focusing on financial flows and identifying crime networks will be crucial to thwarting cybercriminals' ugly schemes. These measures send a clear signal that governments are committed to holding perpetrators accountable and ensuring public safety.
For more information about the operation and the measures taken during it, please visit the reports on Daily Hodl.