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INTEL
PIG BUTCHERING: now the #1 loss category in the US by estimated volume / HUSHPUPPI: the Instagram that became the evidence -- Case 001 open / BEC: one spoofed email, one wire, seven figures -- see the methodology / ROSS ULBRICHT: full pardon January 21 2025 after 11+ years -- Case 013 open / ALL FIGURES LABELED: estimate vs conviction vs market collapse -- see Methodology / UNODC 2023: $5.4B estimated annually from SE Asia pig-butchering compounds [UNVERIFIED] / PIG BUTCHERING: now the #1 loss category in the US by estimated volume / HUSHPUPPI: the Instagram that became the evidence -- Case 001 open / BEC: one spoofed email, one wire, seven figures -- see the methodology / ROSS ULBRICHT: full pardon January 21 2025 after 11+ years -- Case 013 open / ALL FIGURES LABELED: estimate vs conviction vs market collapse -- see Methodology / UNODC 2023: $5.4B estimated annually from SE Asia pig-butchering compounds [UNVERIFIED]
◂ SOUTHEAST ASIA◂ ALL REGIONS
🇰🇭

CAMBODIA

GI-TOC flagged
CAPITAL Phnom Penh · POPULATION 17.4M (2023, UN WPP 2024)
FRAUD TYPES
Pig butchering compounds, forced labor, online gambling
KEY FACTS
100,000+ people held in scam compounds (UN, 2023). Senator Kok An sanctioned by the US Treasury on 23 Apr 2026. Sihanoukville is the compound epicentre.
REPORT FRAUD IN CAMBODIA1▸
No agency for Cambodia in our directory yet.
See all countries we cover ▸
Search the Report Fraud directory.
BORN HERE▸
Nobody in our case files was born in Cambodia yet.
GROUPS ESTABLISHED HERE1▸
1 group in our case files was established in Cambodia. Tap to open the report.
#22Huione GroupMoney Laundering$4B
OPERATED HERE4▸
Physically based or working in Cambodia — lived, ran an office, met victims or was stationed here, per the record. Hacking a target here does not count.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
#4Chen ZhiPig Butchering$15B
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
2015–2026Founds and chairs Prince Holding Group; prosecutors allege it ran forced-labour scam compounds and laundered the proceeds.SOURCE: DOJ EDNY (alleged)
7 Jan 2026Arrested in Cambodia after his citizenship is revoked; extradited to China the same day.SOURCE: CNN; OCCRP
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
#22Huione GroupMoney Laundering$4B
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
Aug 2021–Jan 2025Huione Pay, the guarantee marketplace and the crypto arm launder at least $4 billion of illicit proceeds, FinCEN finds, including North Korean heist money and scam proceeds.SOURCE: FinCEN final rule (finding)
Mar 2025The National Bank of Cambodia revokes Huione Pay's licence.SOURCE: RFA; Khmer Times
Cambodia
#52She ZhijiangPig Butchering$298M
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
2017Obtains Cambodian citizenship by investment.SOURCE: Wikipedia
Cambodia
#70Daren LiPig-Butchering Laundering$73.6M
WHAT THEY DID HERE, AND WHEN
2021–2024Lives in Cambodia and launders proceeds of the 'pig-butchering' scam centres there through shell companies and US bank accounts; ~$73M.SOURCE: DOJ C.D. Cal. plea
OUR CASES BY CATEGORY▸
Share of the 4 cases tied to Cambodia (born or operated here)
PIG BUTCHERING
50%
LAUNDERING
50%
FRAUD METHODS TIED HERE4▸
From the Global Fraud Encyclopedia and the cases above. Tap a method for its page.
#1 Pig Butchering (Romance-Investment Scam)Encyclopedia · used in our cases ▸#7 Money LaunderingEncyclopedia · used in our cases ▸#43 Lottery / Sweepstakes Scamused in our cases ▸#83 Shell Company Fraudused in our cases ▸
KNOWN FOR▸
Pig-butchering crypto investment scamsScam compounds and forced labourCasino-linked money launderingRomance scamsCrypto laundering marketplaces
THE PICTURE▸

Cambodia became one of the world's largest bases for industrial-scale 'pig-butchering' investment and romance scams, run from casinos and compounds in Sihanoukville, Poipet, Bavet and O'Smach and staffed partly by trafficked workers; the UN estimated in 2023 that at least 100,000 people were held in Cambodian scam operations (OHCHR, 2023). In October 2025 US prosecutors indicted Prince Group founder Chen Zhi on wire-fraud and money-laundering conspiracy charges and sought forfeiture of 127,271 bitcoin (~$15bn), while Treasury sanctioned 146 related targets; Cambodia arrested Chen and sent him to China in January 2026 (US DOJ, 2025; CNN, 2026). The US Treasury has also sanctioned tycoon Ly Yong Phat (2024) and Senator Kok An (April 2026), saying Americans lost at least $10bn in 2024 to Southeast Asia-based scam operations (US Treasury, 2026). Cambodia launched a crackdown in July 2025, reporting nearly 30,000 suspects detained by August 2026, and passed its first dedicated anti-scam-centre law in April 2026, though job adverts suggest the industry persists (AP, 2026; Al Jazeera, 2026; ABC Australia, Sep 2026).

TOP FRAUDSTERS FROM HERE1▸
Ly Yong Phat SANCTIONEDREPORT PENDING
n/a (sanctions designation) · 2024
Tycoon whose O'Smach Resort was sanctioned by the US over trafficked workers forced to run online scams.
SOURCE: US Treasury, Sep 2024
FRAUD BY CATEGORY▸
No official body here publishes a breakdown of fraud by type, so we show none rather than guess.
KEY NUMBERS▸
$15bn Bitcoin (127,271 BTC) the US sought to forfeit from the Prince Group case, the largest forfeiture action in US history (US DOJ via TRM Labs / ICIJ, Oct 2025)
~30,000 Suspects of 39 nationalities detained in Cambodia's scam crackdown, Jul 2025 to Aug 2026 (Cambodian authorities via AP, Sep 2026)
$300M+ Bank funds frozen; 446 cases (3,927 suspects) sent to court (Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP), 2026)
$10bn US losses in 2024 to Southeast Asia-based scam operations (US Treasury, 23 Apr 2026)
WHO FIGHTS IT▸
US: EDNY indictment of Chen Zhi and record bitcoin forfeiture action; Treasury sanctions on 146 Prince Group targets (Oct 2025); sanctions on Ly Yong Phat (Sep 2024) and Kok An network (Apr 2026). UK froze ~$134M in Prince Group-linked London property (Oct 2025).
Cambodia arrested Chen Zhi, revoked his citizenship and sent him to China (6 Jan 2026).
Nationwide raids from July 2025, including 1,000+ arrests in one July 2025 sweep (Al Jazeera, 16 Jul 2025).
Parliament approved a law on cyber-scam centres with up to 20 years' prison and $500,000 fines for ringleaders (Apr 2026).
SOURCES▸
US Treasury press releases, Sep 2024, Oct 2025 and 23 Apr 2026
CNN, 7 Jan 2026
ICIJ and TRM Labs on Prince Group forfeiture, 2025
Al Jazeera, 16 Jul 2025 and 3 Apr 2026
AP via ABC News, 2026; ABC Australia, 25 Sep 2026
AKP (Cambodian state news), 2026
UN OHCHR, Aug 2023
Case lists and figures compiled September 2026 from court records, regulators and major press; statuses change. Series reports above are fact-checked case files.
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