VCI Legal – 18 October 2025

In mid-October 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in coordination with FinCEN and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, unveiled a sweeping set of sanctions targeting crypto-related online fraud and forced-labor networks across Southeast Asia. The most prominent name on the list is the Prince Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate now designated as a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO). According to the Treasury’s press release, the group allegedly operated vast online scam compounds where trafficked workers were coerced into running “pig-butchering” investment schemes involving cryptocurrency transactions.

The U.S. and UK actions mark an unprecedented convergence of anti-money laundering, cybercrime, and human-rights enforcement. The sanctions freeze assets of the Prince Group and its affiliates, restrict access to international financial systems, and authorize the seizure of digital wallets linked to illicit proceeds. The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly seized over 127,000 Bitcoin—valued at nearly USD 15 billion—connected to the network’s fraudulent operations.

(Source: Internet)

This latest move underscores a global determination to curb crypto-enabled financial crime and signals to regional actors that Southeast Asia’s online fraud infrastructure is under increasing international scrutiny. The pattern is not confined to Cambodia. In Vietnam, authorities have also intensified investigations into AntEx, a high-profile blockchain and DeFi project that attracted large-scale investment before collapsing amid allegations of fraud.

The AntEx case involves Vietnamese entrepreneur Nguyen Hoa Binh (“Shark Binh”) and other project executives accused of misappropriating investor assets exceeding USD 34 million. The platform, which issued its own token “ANTEX,” promised generous yields and multi-layered investment products. However, authorities uncovered dual accounting records, opaque asset flows, and an artificial inflation of token value. Tokens rapidly lost their worth, and investors faced significant losses.

Both the AntEx and Prince Group cases illustrate the evolving risks surrounding cryptocurrency operations in Southeast Asia — where rapid innovation often outpaces regulatory safeguards. The intersection between unlicensed fundraising, token speculation, and transnational crime has drawn growing concern from regulators, who now link financial misconduct with broader issues of human exploitation and human-rights violations.

For businesses and financial institutions, these developments carry serious compliance implications. Exposure to sanctioned or high-risk entities, even indirectly, can lead to asset freezes, reputational harm, and loss of access to global banking networks. The coordinated sanctions also highlight the expanding extraterritorial reach of Western enforcement, where local crypto projects are no longer insulated from global accountability.

Key Compliance Takeaways and Risk Mitigation Measures

• Strengthen due diligence: Screen all counterparties, investors, and project partners against global sanctions lists (OFAC, UK HMT, EU).

• Enhance transparency: Disclose full project structures, token issuance details, and fund management mechanisms to avoid misrepresentation.

• Align with AML/CFT standards: Apply robust Know-Your-Customer (KYC), wallet monitoring, and suspicious transaction reporting mechanisms similar to those in traditional banking.

• Conduct human-rights risk assessments: Particularly for projects operating in or near zones known for forced labor or scam compounds.

• Establish a sanctions response protocol: Develop internal procedures to promptly suspend or report transactions involving newly designated entities or suspicious wallets.

Ultimately, the crackdown on Prince Group and the AntEx investigation share a common lesson: crypto innovation cannot substitute for compliance. As regulators increasingly connect financial crime with human-rights abuses, regional actors must move beyond technical innovation to embrace transparency, ethical conduct, and accountability—or risk being caught in the next global enforcement wave.

About VCI Legal:

VCI Legal is an award-winning business law firm in Vietnam with a wide range of legal and corporate services, among other things, corporate, banking & finance, tax, labor & HR, real estate and dispute resolution with special focus on international investment disputes, We also offer our specialized type of service called “In-House Counsel Service” with the aim of assisting our clients in dealing with all types of internal and external issues arising from their day-to-day operations and business activities. With our offices in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, we have a tremendous depth of experience in providing well-reasoned and comprehensive legal advice to not only multinationals and Fortune 500 companies, but also small and medium enterprises.

Our professional team comprises one of the leading law firms in Vietnam with service quality highly recommended and acknowledged by international legal service reviewers such as: The Legal 500, AsiaLaw Profiles, IFLR, KPMG’s Tax Directors’ Handbook, Acquisition International, ACQ Global, Global Law Experts, Finance Monthly, and Chambers & Partners.

For many years, VCI Legal has been ranked among the top law firms in Vietnam for corporate, finance, insurance, taxation, employment, intellectual property and investment. With a “Can Do Attitude” combined with a “Know How” capacity, our firm is big enough to provide comprehensive legal support for any in-house legal matters, yet small enough to care about each of our clients. We undertake each engagement with the mindset of a long-term relationship, with the will to give whatever it takes to understand and fulfill your needs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Suite P7-42.18, Vinhomes Central Park, 720A Dien Bien Phu, Thanh My Tay Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Tel.: (+84) 028 3827 2029 Fax: (+84) 028 3823 4436

Hanoi

Suite 1903, Floor 19, W1 Tower, Vinhomes Westpoint, Pham Hung, Tu Liem Ward, Hanoi City, Vietnam

Tel.: (+84) 024 3936 4985 – (+84) 024 3936 4987

Affiliated Offices: Beijing – Shanghai – Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Singapore – New Delhi – Dubai – Doha – Zurich Paris – Rome – Brescia – Washington D.C. – Los Angeles