Monday 12 October 2026
Evening Edition
ZOTPAPER

News without the noise

ZOTPAPER
World

UK freezes £8.9m London penthouse of alleged scam empire finance chief

Court bid to keep seized watches, jewellery and cash as US targets $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to Prince Group

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
UK authorities have frozen the London penthouse of Thet Li, the alleged finance chief of Prince Group, the Cambodian conglomerate they accuse of running industrial-scale online fraud. The Times reported on Sunday that Li paid £8.9 million for the 13th-floor apartment overlooking Buckingham Palace in 2022, and that a freezing order was placed on its Land Registry record after a Foreign Office investigation.

Li, 39, is accused by UK authorities of being a "key lieutenant" to Prince Group's leader who "managed the Prince Group's international financial network," according to The Times. The US Treasury named him in October 2025 among 146 Prince Group targets, describing him as a "de facto illicit finance CFO" involved in "bulk cash smuggling and managing dirty money." The UK sanctioned Li in March under its global human rights regime, citing his links to Chen Zhi and Prince Group, whose Cambodian scam centres it says subject workers to forced labour and cruel treatment.

Authorities describe Prince Group as a front for "industrial scale" online fraud, including the romance and investment scams known as "pig butchering." The Times cited United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 trafficked workers are forced to work in its operations. The United States has sought forfeiture of about $14 billion in Bitcoin tied to Prince Group, which denies any wrongdoing.

On Monday, authorities will ask a court to continue the seizure of Li's watches and jewellery, valued at £10.6 million, along with £92,570 in cash.

§

Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The freezing order targets the personal wealth of a man US and UK authorities describe as the financial controller of an alleged fraud empire, signalling a push to dismantle its money flows rather than only its operations.
  • The case joins a UK asset freeze, US Treasury designations and a US forfeiture action over about $14 billion in Bitcoin, showing how profits from "pig butchering" scams move across borders.
  • Monday's hearing will decide whether the watches, jewellery and cash remain in official hands.

Background

Over the past several years, Cambodia and nearby countries have faced international scrutiny over scam compounds that use trafficked workers to run online fraud. "Pig butchering" refers to romance and investment scams in which victims are drawn into fake schemes and persuaded to send money, often in cryptocurrency. US authorities have made recovering crypto linked to such networks a priority. Prince Group denies any wrongdoing, and the London freezing order is a civil asset action pending further legal proceedings.

Key Perspectives

UK authorities: describe Prince Group as a front for industrial-scale fraud and Li as the manager of its international financial network. Prince Group: denies any wrongdoing. The seizures remain subject to court proceedings, with a hearing scheduled for Monday. Critics and sceptics: freezing orders and sanctions stop assets from being moved, but the underlying fraud networks can adapt unless there are arrests, worker rescues and cross-border cooperation. Monday's hearing will test the strength of the UK case.

What to Watch

  • The outcome of Monday's court hearing over the watches, jewellery and £92,570 in cash.
  • Whether the US forfeiture action over $14 billion in Bitcoin proceeds through the courts.
  • Any further UK or US action against Chen Zhi, to whom Li is linked under the UK sanctions, or other Prince Group targets.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

How we workSubscribe