Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association

US Hits Prince Group With Third Round of Sanctions

Prince Group buildings and a Prince Bank branch are seen on Norodom Boulevard in Phnom Penh after the conglomerate was sanctioned by the United States and Britain. Oct. 15, 2025. (CamboJA/Pring Samrang)
Prince Group buildings and a Prince Bank branch are seen on Norodom Boulevard in Phnom Penh after the conglomerate was sanctioned by the United States and Britain. Oct. 15, 2025. (CamboJA/Pring Samrang)

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The United States Treasury Department on Thursday imposed a third round of sanctions on Cambodia-based conglomerate Prince Group, designating four more individuals and 41 entities.

The designations target Qiu Yong, Zhao Mengyao, Visal Pang and He Yujing. All but Zhao hold Cambodian citizenship, according to naturalization records in royal gazette archives.

“Today’s action further targets the corporate and financial infrastructure that has enabled Prince Group TCO leaders to conceal assets, evade prior sanctions, and maintain access to the international financial system,” the department said in a statement, using its abbreviation for transnational criminal organization.

The U.S. and Britain first sanctioned Prince Group in October 2025, accusing it of running scam compounds staffed by trafficked workers and laundering billions of dollars stolen through online fraud. The group has denied wrongdoing.

Its founder, Chen Zhi, a former adviser to Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, Senate President Hun Sen, was stripped of his Cambodian citizenship and extradited to China in January.

Many of the new targets are linked to Chen Bo, a Prince Group executive sanctioned in June, including 11 Cambodian companies such as Prince International Airlines, CB General Insurance and lottery operator Asian Welfare Lotteries. CCU Commercial Bank, which Chen Bo chairs, was sanctioned in June and lost its license in August, though the central bank said only that the “decision is based on non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations.”

The U.S. Treasury said He Yujing, whom it identified as Chen Bo’s wife, holds property on his behalf. Visal Pang, who co-directs several companies with Chen Bo, was sanctioned along with 11 businesses he controls, including the Marco Polo Hotel and the U-Life super app. Britain sanctioned Pang in March.

Qiu, who U.S. officials said once worked for a company controlled by Chen Zhi and holds Cambodian, St. Lucian and Turkish passports, was sanctioned along with 14 companies in Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. Zhao, described as his Hong Kong-based personal assistant, was designated for serving as company secretary and co-director of companies Qui controls.

Four other companies in Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia are tied to previously sanctioned Prince Group associates Dai An and Thet Li, according to the department.

Washington separately sanctioned Malaysian national Chui Kok Wa, who it said led a Madagascar-based scam network that defrauded Americans of more than $400,000. U.S. prosecutors, who indicted him in October, said his group likely moved there from Cambodia after crackdowns.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that the department would continue targeting all levels of the networks, from their leaders to the corporate structures and financial facilitators that allow them to operate with impunity.

Last month, Cambodian authorities said they had identified 198 companies linked to Prince Group, including 98 registered in Cambodia and 100 operating overseas. Courts have issued arrest warrants for 32 suspects, and authorities are seeking Interpol’s help to locate 29 others who fled abroad.

In Singapore, Karen Chen, a Singaporean associate of Chen Zhi, was charged in court Friday after being detained upon her return to the city-state.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak and Commerce Ministry spokesperson Pen Sovicheat did not respond to requests for comment on whether authorities are investigating the newly sanctioned individuals and their Cambodia-based companies, or whether they remain in Cambodia.