U.S. Department of Justice freezes 127,000 Bitcoins: New developments in asset recovery in transnational fraud cases

NonFungibleDegen · 2026-01-07T15:02:10+00:00

In a transnational scam case, after Prince Group founder Chen Zhi was arrested in Cambodia, the US and Singapore respectively froze his massive crypto assets and multiple properties. The US froze 127,000 Bitcoins, while Singapore froze assets worth 150 million SGD. Although his business is still operating, international legal pressure has made operations increasingly difficult.

NonFungibleDegen

2026-01-07 15:02:10

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【BlockBeats】A massive cryptocurrency asset freeze linked to an international scam case. After the founder of the Prince Group, Chen Zhi, was arrested in Cambodia, the US and Singapore took action successively.

The US Department of Justice’s move was the most shocking—by October 2025, they froze 127,000 Bitcoins held by the Prince Group, worth approximately $15 billion at the then-market price. Data disclosed also showed that this group employed between 5,000 and 10,000 people within their campus, with over 700,000 scam accounts registered. The scale is astonishing.

Singapore also did not sit idle. A large number of assets belonging to Chen Zhi’s family were frozen, including luxury cars like Bentleys and Rolls-Royces, high-value real estate, and bank accounts, totaling 150 million SGD (about 800 million RMB).

Interestingly, business units such as Prince Bank and Prince Properties, operating under the “legitimate” banner, are still running, and their branches can still be seen on the streets of Phnom Penh. However, under the pressure of lawsuits and asset freezes from the US and Singapore, these operations are beginning to face difficulties. It seems that the joint efforts of multiple countries to recover assets are starting to show results.

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0xSunnyDay

· 19h ago

127,000 Bitcoins are directly frozen. This scale is truly incredible. What does it mean to have over 700,000 scam accounts?

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LootboxPhobia

· 01-08 15:17

127,000 Bitcoins? That would have to be frozen until the Year of the Monkey and the Year of the Horse. The scale is outrageous.

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ParallelChainMaxi

· 01-08 12:20

127,000 BTC frozen all at once. With this scale... I just want to know who will take over these coins later, and whether they'll dump the market.

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GasFeeVictim

· 01-08 11:17

127,000 Bitcoins are directly frozen. This scale is truly incredible; just this move alone left me stunned. --- 700,000 scam accounts? Damn, this is industrial-grade. --- $15 billion gone, and some people are still opening stores in Phnom Penh? Their guts are really big. --- The US Department of Justice has been quite efficient this time, unlike some cases that drag on for years. --- The Prince Group has gone from top trending to a laughingstock. The crypto circle has lost another "big shot." --- The key is, there are still 5,000 to 10,000 employees. How many people know the inside story? --- Bentley and Rolls-Royce have all been frozen. Money really comes fast and goes even faster. --- 127,000 BTC. I haven't even saved one-tenth of that, and they're out there committing scams.

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DarkPoolWatcher

· 01-07 15:32

127,000 Bitcoins are directly frozen, this scale... the scam group is quite good at saving money.

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MEVSandwichVictim

· 01-07 15:28

127,000 Bitcoins are directly frozen, this method is ruthless... But the number of 700,000 scam accounts is truly shocking; this scale is an industrialized scam.

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DYORMaster

· 01-07 15:26

12.7 million BTC directly frozen, this scale is a bit outrageous, over 700,000 scam accounts? Really daring to think --- Luxury cars and real estate all confiscated, only $15 billion frozen? Feels like the scam money is more --- The key is that Prince Bank is still operating? What's the logic here, is law enforcement in Phnom Penh so lax? --- $15 billion worth of BTC, if this asset can be seized, where would it flow to? Can it compensate the victims? --- 5,000 to 10,000 employees involved in scams, how organized must that be, truly impressive --- Singapore froze 800 million RMB, the US froze $15 billion, such a big gap indicates that the US has stricter regulation on digital assets --- Prince Real Estate still has stores open? The safety risk in Phnom Penh is a bit high

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BlockchainTherapist

· 01-07 15:23

127,000 Bitcoins are directly frozen, this scale is indeed a bit outrageous... 700,000 scam accounts? It seems like this is the real "big pie"

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TradFiRefugee

· 01-07 15:19

120,000 Bitcoins, that's an incredible scale. Are scams reaching this level? --- 700,000 accounts? Feels like more than some exchanges' real users haha --- Bentley and Rolls-Royce are still around, banks and real estate are still open. Is this what "frozen" looks like? --- $15 billion just disappeared. How many retail investors were scammed? --- Can you still see stores in Phnom Penh? Then what's the point of freezing, still continuing to scam? --- The US acting so quickly indicates this case has touched something significant. --- 5,000 to 10,000 employees scamming together, their cost control is excellent.

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PortfolioAlert

· 01-07 15:09

127,000 Bitcoins frozen? How crazy is this scale, with 700,000 scam accounts... This is a large-scale harvest.

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