In one of the most dramatic law enforcement operations in the crypto world, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized over 127,000 Bitcoin, worth approximately $15 billion, from Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi, also known as Prince Chen. The operation marks the biggest crypto confiscation in US history and one of the largest in the world. It exposed a complicated criminal empire spanning continents and involving cyber fraud, forced labor, and corruption.

The Rise and Fall of a Global Scam Empire

According to official DOJ documents and reports from AP News, Chen Zhi masterminded a massive criminal enterprise that combined elements of human trafficking, investment fraud, and cryptocurrency laundering. He used a vast network of shell companies to launder illicit funds through Bitcoin and other digital assets. Chen and his associates referred to their enterprise as pig butchering, a Chinese slang term for a long-term online scam in which fraudsters “fatten up” their victims through fake relationships or investment opportunities before stealing their funds. Chen’s syndicate operated out of special economic zones in Cambodia and Myanmar, where thousands of workers were coerced into running fake crypto investment schemes.

The organization targeted its victims, mostly from North America and Europe, through social media and dating apps. Criminals convinced them to invest in exclusive crypto opportunities, promising huge profits based on insider information or even secretive trading algorithms. They used fake crypto exchanges to facilitate fake trades and defraud their victims. The scam reached its peak in mid-2024, and investigators estimate that it was raking in over $30 million daily.

A Digital Paper Trail Leads to the Biggest Bust Yet

The breakthrough in the case was the culmination of cooperation between various agencies, including the DOJ, the FBI’s Cyber Division, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Investigators tracked the movement of Bitcoin through a network of wallets and online services until they managed to identify a single cold wallet that was used repeatedly across multiple fake exchanges tied to Chen’s organization. The discovery led to the seizure of 127,271 BTC, an amount that surpassed even the 2022 Silk Road recovery, worth around $3.4 billion at the time. A series of raids in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville resulted in a wealth of evidence against the group, culminating in the arrest of Chen and 18 of his associates in a luxury compound in the area.

Crypto, Crime, and Accountability

The staggering scale of the scam, dubbed “one of the largest investment fraud operations in history” by US Attorney Joseph Nocella, reignited the debate about the role of crypto in international crime. Critics argue that cryptocurrencies make it easy for criminals to move funds across national borders and that fraud like this wouldn’t be possible without them. However, while it is true that Chen’s organization exploited the decentralized and borderless nature of crypto to launder billions in stolen funds, the same technology he used was his downfall. Investigators used blockchain’s immutable ledgers to track him down.

Experts from CryptoManiaks, one of the world’s leading crypto education and review platforms, noted that cases like this reiterate the importance of user awareness. Many scams rely not on advanced technology but on simple psychological tricks and manipulations. The criminals prey on victims’ ignorance of how wallets, exchanges, and even blockchain transactions work to relieve them of their money.

Conclusion

Chen’s upcoming trial will undoubtedly be one of the most covered events in the crypto world. The sheer scale of his operation illustrates the need for a different approach to digital assets, especially by national governments. The positive side of this story is that the inherent transparency of blockchain technology once again saved the day and made it possible to apprehend the criminals and bring them to justice.