The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has imposed sanctions on four individuals and 41 companies integrated into the corporate and financial structure of the transnational criminal group Prince Group, which is attributed with the management of extensive international networks of cyberfraud, money laundering, and human trafficking. At the same time, Washington separately punished a Malaysian citizen for leading an organization of con artists with an operational base in Africa.
"Cyberfraud networks continue to steal billions of dollars from American victims while relying on sophisticated international business networks to launder their illicit profits," the U.S. Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, denounced in the statement released by OFAC, highlighting Washington's commitment to "dismantle every layer of these organizations". These actions are framed within the executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March to address cybercrime and foreign-directed extortion schemes.
According to information provided by the U.S. Executive, Prince Group primarily operates from scam complexes located in Southeast Asia, where people recruited through trafficking and subjected to coercion are forced to carry out Internet frauds, including fake investment products in digital assets and romantic scams.
The new sanctions focus on financial intermediaries, shell companies, and 'offshore' firms with a presence in jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, or Singapore, which would have allowed the group's leadership to conceal assets and evade previous restrictions approved in October 2025 and June 2026.
Following these measures, coordinated with the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the authorities of the United Kingdom and of the British Virgin Islands, all assets and property rights of those designated that are in U.S. territory or under the control of persons of U.S. nationality are frozen. Likewise, banks and individuals in the United States are broadly prohibited from maintaining financial or commercial relationships with those sanctioned, under the threat of facing harsh civil and criminal consequences.