The U.S. government has seized $15 billion in bitcoin from a Cambodian business conglomerate charged with running a global cryptocurrency scam.
Federal prosecutors claim Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group, oversaw a vast criminal network in Cambodia built on forced labor that extracted billions from victims in the U.S. and around the world.
The indictment, which was unsealed in a federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday, charges the 37-year-old Cambodian national with wire fraud and money laundering.
"By dismantling a criminal empire built on forced labor and deception, we are sending a clear message that the United States will use every tool at its disposal to defend victims, recover stolen assets and bring to justice those who exploit the vulnerable for profit,