US Justice Department Seizes $15 Billion in Bitcoin — Largest Crypto Confiscation in History
In what officials describe as the largest cryptocurrency confiscation ever, the US Department of Justice has seized 127,271 bitcoins — valued at roughly $15 billion — from businessman Chen Zhi. The dual citizen of the UK and Cambodia stands accused of orchestrating a vast “pig butchering” scam and laundering the proceeds through his conglomerate Prince Group.
A Corporate Front for Global Fraud
Investigators allege that Prince Group, once registered as a legitimate investment company, evolved into a transnational criminal network operating from Cambodia. Under its umbrella, compounds of forced-labor workers were compelled to contact victims on social media, posing as financial advisors and luring them into fake crypto-investment opportunities with promises of high returns.The victims transferred funds into company-controlled crypto wallets. Those assets were quickly routed through multiple exchanges and shell wallets, stripped of traceable identifiers, and ultimately consolidated into cold storage. When US authorities traced the coins, they uncovered one of the largest single hoards of illicit Bitcoin ever recorded.
How the Scam Worked
The “pig butchering” model combines romance-style social engineering with investment fraud. Victims are “fattened” with trust — through daily conversations and fabricated trading dashboards — before being “slaughtered” when the scammers vanish with their deposits. Investigators believe Chen Zhi’s operation industrialized this model, using coercion and trafficking to staff fraudulent call centers.Forced Labor and Human Trafficking Links
Reports from human-rights groups describe how workers from neighboring countries were lured to Cambodia under false employment offers and then forced to run scam accounts. Many were confined under threat and had their passports confiscated — effectively enslaved in digital fraud factories. The DOJ’s case connects these abuses directly to Chen Zhi’s network.Charges and Penalties
Chen Zhi faces charges of money laundering, wire fraud and human-trafficking-related offenses. If convicted, he could receive up to 40 years in federal prison. Officials stressed that the seized Bitcoins will remain in government custody pending court forfeiture proceedings. The case marks a landmark in both scale and complexity for digital asset law enforcement.A Message to Global Crypto Criminals
Justice Department officials stated that this operation sends a clear signal: cross-border fraud schemes using crypto and forced labor will be tracked and prosecuted regardless of jurisdiction. The investigation combined blockchain forensics with human-trafficking task forces and international partners in Asia and Europe.Broader Implications for Crypto Oversight
The record-breaking seizure demonstrates how digital assets have become entangled with organized crime and labor exploitation. Analysts argue that tighter cooperation between crypto exchanges, law-enforcement agencies and human-rights organizations is now essential to detect patterns of financial and human abuse earlier. It also underscores the importance of regulatory clarity for international AML frameworks.Conclusion
The US DOJ’s $15 billion Bitcoin seizure is not only a legal milestone but a humanitarian one — uncovering how crypto crime and forced labor intersect. It reinforces that behind blockchain addresses are real victims — and that financial technology cannot remain a safe haven for human exploitation.Editorial Team — CoinBotLab