In short
- The UK has approved the cryptocurrency market Xinbi, which offers services to fraudulent sites including the sale of stolen goods and satellite equipment.
- The sanctions also target # 8 Park, which is believed to be the largest fraud center in Cambodia that can employ 20,000 people.
- The move follows an earlier case in the UK against the Prince Group which led to the freezing of $1 billion in assets and the closure of hundreds of fraud sites.
The UK government has approved Xinbi, which is described as “the largest illegal marketplace in Southeast Asia,” targeting its cryptocurrency services to fraudulent sites that prey on victims around the world while exploiting workers.
According to a government announcementXinbi offers services including the sale of stolen data that can be used against victims and online tools used to communicate with victims. The UK said its sanctions would separate the platform from the official crypto space by affecting its ability to send and receive cryptocurrencies.
Stephen Doughty, Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, said the sanctions would send a “clear message” that the UK would not tolerate fraudulent facilities targeting British victims, or “the appalling suppression of human rights that takes place in these fraudulent facilities.”
The sanctions also target Legend Innovation Co., which operates # 8 Park – a fraud site recently revealed to be linked to the Prince Group and thought to be the largest in Cambodia, which could house 20,000 workers. The director of Legend Innovation, Eang Soklim, was also admitted, along with people including Thet Li, who is described as a senior lieutenant of Chen Zhi who was in charge of Prince Group’s international finances.
Actions follow joint sanctions sanctions imposed by the US and UK last year against Prince Group and its Chairman Chen Zhi, which the UK government said led to nationwide searches and arrests and the freeze and seizure of assets worth more than £1 billion.
Scam networks in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia has become a hotbed of fraud run by international criminals, Interpol said last November. elevated to the level of a global threat.
Fraudulent networks often rely on human trafficking and forced labor, according to Amnesty International warning Earlier this year, the mass exodus from Cambodia created a “humanitarian crisis.”
The global push against crypto-backed scams includes Taiwan the case of 62 people spending $ 339 million from Cambodian fraud, the establishment of a US agency “Scam Center Strike Force” in November 2025 which some have said $580 million in crypto epilepsy and cold, and ‘Operation Atlantic,’ a joint operation between the US Secret Service, the UK and Canada to combat crypto fraud.
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