UMVA has learned that the FBI has seized a staggering cache of cryptocurrency—over $8 billion worth—while arresting hundreds of suspects in a sweeping global crackdown on organized “scam compounds.”
The raid centered on a Cambodian enterprise called the Prince Holding Group, whose CEO Chen Zhi was taken into custody as agents confiscated more than 127,000 bitcoin, a haul that could exceed $15 billion at current values, marking the largest forfeiture in U.S. history.
Authorities have tied the Prince Group to the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, an armed militia from Myanmar’s Karen region alleged to have deep connections with Chinese organized crime and already listed on U.S. sanctions.
FBI officials describe these “scam compounds” as sophisticated criminal factories that steal from Americans, launder money, and exploit vulnerable workers at massive scale, far beyond the image of a simple call center.
In Thailand, agents seized thousands of smartphones and office equipment, while in Dubai, a joint operation led to 275 arrests, with six suspects slated for extradition to face federal charges.
Each of the nine Dubai compounds was reportedly generating about $6 million a year in fraudulent proceeds, feeding a global network that preys on U.S. citizens.
One heartbreaking case involved a U.S. victim who lost $3 million to an online romance scam, a reminder that these operations have driven victims to desperation, including several suicides.
Investigators uncovered that many scams rely on human‑trafficking victims, luring them with false promises of high‑paying jobs and visas, then forcing them to conduct fraud under threats of violence.
In a groundbreaking partnership, the FBI supplied geolocation data to a satellite internet provider, prompting the suspension of more than 7,000 terminals in Myanmar that were being used to facilitate fraud.
The crackdown stems from a flood of complaints to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, which recorded nearly 72,000 reports of cryptocurrency fraud in 2025, amounting to over $7.5 billion in losses—figures experts say vastly understate the true damage.
Operation Blackout, the umbrella effort behind these raids, comprises multiple coordinated actions: Operation Zephyr Exodus targeting the Prince Holding Group; Operation Sand Dollar dismantling Asian scam compounds; Operation Haochen seizing $30 million from a Myanmar hub linked to Chinese crime; and the Shunda Compound takedown in Thailand, which also shut down a Telegram recruitment channel.
Beyond arrests, the FBI launched Operation Level Up, a proactive campaign that has warned nearly 9,000 potential victims, preventing an estimated $562 million in further losses.
