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When Cambodia banned cryptocurrency in 2019, officials thought they’d shut down the flow of digital cash. Instead, they created the perfect conditions for one of the largest criminal enterprises in modern history.
The Ban That Backfired
The National Bank of Cambodia’s 2019 directive didn’t stop people from using crypto-it pushed it underground. With no legal exchanges, no oversight, and no way to report fraud, the country became a magnet for organized crime. While banks were told to block crypto transactions, millions of Cambodians kept trading anyway. A 2025 survey found 10.63% of the population still used digital assets, even with the ban in place. That’s not just stubbornness-it’s demand. And criminals were ready to fill the gap.How the Prince Group Built a Crime Empire
At the heart of this underground system is the Prince Group, a criminal network that turned scam compounds into high-tech fraud factories. These weren’t just offices-they were prisons. People were lured from China, Vietnam, and even the U.S. with fake job offers. Once they arrived in Sihanoukville or Chrey Thom, their passports were taken. They were forced to work 18-hour days, calling victims on WhatsApp and Telegram, pretending to be crypto traders who’d made millions. Victims in the U.S., South Korea, and Australia were told they could double their money in weeks. They sent Bitcoin. They sent Ethereum. And then they vanished. No returns. No refunds. Just silence. The Prince Group didn’t just run scams-they ran them like a Fortune 500 company. They had HR departments, performance targets, and punishment systems. Workers who missed their daily fraud quotas were beaten. Some were electrocuted. Others were locked in cages.Huione Guarantee: The Money Laundry
The money didn’t stay in cash. It flowed through Huione Guarantee, a shadowy financial operation founded in 2014 that became the central hub for laundering crypto from scams, ransomware, and dark web sales. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Huione processed at least $4 billion between 2021 and early 2025. That includes $37 million from North Korean hackers, $36 million from fake crypto investment schemes, and $300 million from other cybercrimes. Huione didn’t use banks. It used Telegram. It built a whole ecosystem on the app-vendors selling stolen identities, fake KYC documents, and mixing services that made Bitcoin untraceable. When Telegram shut them down in 2015, they just moved deeper into encrypted channels. By 2024, they were moving $8.9 million in crypto from South Korean exchanges alone. That number jumped 1,400% from the year before.
The Global Reach of a Local Crime
This wasn’t just a Cambodia problem. The Brooklyn Network, a laundering pipeline documented by TRM Labs, moved over $18 million from U.S. victims directly into Prince Group accounts. Victims lost between $5,000 and $250,000 each. Many were retirees. Some were college students. All were tricked by slick websites that looked just like Binance or Kucoin. The Prince Group didn’t just take money-they integrated it into the real economy. They bought hotels. They owned casinos. They used fake business licenses to make their money look clean. One compound, the Jinbei Hotel and Casino, was listed as a legitimate tourist attraction. Inside, it was a forced labor camp. The U.S. Justice Department called it a “front for transnational criminal activity.”Why Cambodia? Why Now?
Cambodia’s weak financial oversight made it the ideal playground. Ranked 128th out of 180 countries in corruption perception in 2024, it had little appetite for enforcing rules that didn’t benefit the powerful. Cash still dominates the economy. Bank accounts are easy to open. Officials are often paid to look away. Meanwhile, neighboring countries cracked down. Vietnam requires strict AML checks. Thailand licenses exchanges. Cambodia? It did nothing-until 2024. That’s when the National Bank of Cambodia introduced Prakas B7-024-735 Prokor, a new licensing system meant to bring crypto into the light. But instead of stopping crime, it gave criminals a new tool. Now, they could get official permits, open bank accounts under fake names, and launder money under the guise of legality.
The Billion Crackdown
On October 14, 2025, everything changed. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against the Prince Group, naming Huione Guarantee as a key player. They didn’t just sue-they seized $15 billion in Bitcoin. That’s the largest asset forfeiture in U.S. history. The operation was a global effort. The U.K., South Korea, and Australia coordinated with U.S. agencies. Exchanges like Binance and Kucoin cut off all Cambodian-linked accounts. Telegram shut down remaining channels. The Prince Group’s internal documents, including emails that mentioned “BTC laundering” and “underground money houses,” were made public. But here’s the twist: even after the seizure, transactions with Huione kept growing. By October 20, 2025, South Korean exchanges had sent another $3.15 billion won ($2.2 million) to Cambodian wallets. The network didn’t die-it adapted.What Happens Next?
The Cambodian government now says it’s serious about reform. It’s exploring a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to replace underground crypto. But CBDCs take years to roll out. And in the meantime, the criminals are already planning their next move. Some experts warn this could become the new drug trade. Jacob Sims from Harvard’s Asia Center called it “the top form of financial crime impacting Americans now and maybe ever in history.” The profits? Bigger than cocaine. The reach? Global. The victims? Millions. For now, the underground market survives. The scams still run. The money still moves. And until Cambodia’s institutions become as strong as its criminals, this won’t end.Is crypto trading legal in Cambodia today?
Technically, yes-but only under strict licensing. In late 2024, Cambodia replaced its 2019 ban with a permission-based system that allows licensed exchanges to operate. However, the system is poorly enforced, and criminal networks like Huione Guarantee have used these licenses to launder money under the appearance of legality. Most underground trading still happens outside the system.
How do scammers trick people into crypto investment schemes?
Scammers use fake profiles on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram to pose as successful traders. They post screenshots of fake profits, share testimonials from paid actors, and invite victims to join private groups. Once someone deposits money, they’re given a platform that looks like Binance or Kucoin. Withdrawals are blocked. Customer support vanishes. The entire setup is designed to look real until it’s too late.
What role does Telegram play in Cambodia’s crypto underground?
Telegram is the backbone of the underground crypto economy. It’s used to recruit victims, coordinate scams, sell stolen data, and transfer funds through encrypted channels. Huione Guarantee built a full criminal marketplace on Telegram before it was shut down in 2015. Since then, users have migrated to private, invite-only groups that are nearly impossible for law enforcement to access.
Are Cambodians victims or participants in this system?
Many Cambodians are both. Some work in scam compounds under threat of violence. Others run small underground exchanges or act as money mules, moving crypto between wallets for a cut. A small number profit directly from the system. But the vast majority are trapped-either as forced laborers or as people who lost savings to scams they didn’t even realize were criminal.
Can victims recover their lost crypto?
Almost never. Crypto transactions are irreversible. Even after the $15 billion seizure, most individual victims won’t get their money back. The seized assets belong to the U.S. government and will be used to fund law enforcement, not compensate individuals. Recovery requires international cooperation, legal action, and luck-all of which are rare in these cases.
How is this different from crypto scams in other countries?
Most crypto scams are online. Cambodia’s are physical. Victims are trafficked, held against their will, and forced to commit fraud. The scale is also unmatched-no other country has seen criminal groups build entire cities of scam factories, integrate them with casinos and hotels, and launder billions through a single entity like Huione Guarantee.
Is the U.S. government still targeting these operations?
Yes. The October 2025 forfeiture was just the beginning. The U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN continues to monitor Cambodian-linked wallets. The FBI and Interpol have joint task forces focused on Southeast Asian cybercrime. More arrests and seizures are expected through 2026. But the criminals are evolving-using decentralized exchanges and privacy coins to stay ahead.
Durgesh Mehta
December 2, 2025 AT 03:35Man this is wild. I knew crypto was messy but I had no idea it got this dark. People getting locked in cages just to scam others? That’s not finance, that’s a horror movie.
And the fact they used Telegram like a dark web marketplace? Genius and terrifying at the same time.
Sarah Roberge
December 3, 2025 AT 12:19ok but like… if the government banned it why did they just… let it grow? like are they getting paid? is this all just a giant tax evasion scheme for the elite? i feel like i’m missing the real plot here. also why is everyone still using telegram?? it’s so 2017. 😭
Jess Bothun-Berg
December 4, 2025 AT 18:31Oh, so now we’re blaming Cambodia for being corrupt? Wow. Shocking. Next you’ll tell me water is wet. The U.S. has been laundering money through shell companies since the 1980s-and now you’re shocked a third-world country did the same thing? Pathetic.
Steve Savage
December 5, 2025 AT 16:41This is the saddest thing I’ve read all year. Not because of the money-though $15 billion is insane-but because of the people. The ones forced to work 18-hour days. The retirees who lost everything. The college kids who thought they were getting rich.
It’s not just a crime syndicate. It’s a human tragedy wrapped in blockchain jargon.
And the worst part? It’s still going. Even after the seizure. That’s the real horror story.
Joe B.
December 7, 2025 AT 16:09Let’s break this down statistically because I’ve been crunching the numbers since this dropped. Huione Guarantee processed $4B in 4 years? That’s $1.1M/day. South Korean exchanges alone sent $8.9M/day in 2024? That’s a 1400% increase YoY? That’s not growth-that’s exponential decay of regulatory oversight.
And the fact that they used fake KYC docs? That’s the same method used in the 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist. Same playbook. Different continent. Same greed.
Also, the U.S. seized $15B in BTC? That’s 7% of all Bitcoin ever mined. That’s not a forfeiture-it’s a market manipulation event waiting to happen. Expect a 30% dump in Q1 2026. I’m shorting BTC now. 📉
Rod Filoteo
December 9, 2025 AT 12:46They’re not even hiding it anymore. This is all part of the New World Order. The government lets this happen so they can seize the crypto later and claim it’s 'for national security.' That’s why they created the CBDC-so they can track EVERYTHING. The Prince Group? Just a distraction. The real game is control.
And don’t even get me started on Telegram. They’re using it because it’s encrypted… but what if the encryption is backdoored? What if the U.S. and China are both watching? What if the 'seizure' was a sting to flush out the real players? I’m not paranoid-I’m informed.
Layla Hu
December 9, 2025 AT 17:06I just can’t imagine being one of those workers. Forced to scam people, terrified, no way out. It’s heartbreaking. I hope someone finds a way to help them.
Nora Colombie
December 10, 2025 AT 00:23Cambodia is a failed state. Why are we even talking about this like it’s some exotic crime story? It’s just another example of what happens when you let third-world governments run loose. We should’ve bombed those compounds years ago. This isn’t diplomacy-it’s national security failure. And the U.S. is too soft.
Greer Dauphin
December 11, 2025 AT 06:48Wait… so they used fake Binance websites? 😂 I fell for one of those in 2021. Thought I was gonna be rich. Lost $2k. Then I realized the site had a .xyz domain. Rookie mistake.
But this? This is next level. Like… they turned scamming into a corporate HR department? That’s either genius or deeply disturbing. Probably both.
Also, why is everyone still on Telegram? I switched to Signal years ago. No offense, but y’all are living in 2015.
Bhoomika Agarwal
December 12, 2025 AT 14:14India’s got its own version of this-only with fake gold schemes and WhatsApp groups. But this? This is next-gen human trafficking with blockchain branding. The Prince Group should be in a Netflix docu-series. I’d binge it while eating samosas.
Also, Cambodians are not victims-they’re survivors. And if they’re running underground exchanges? Respect. That’s hustle. Even if it’s illegal.
Katherine Alva
December 14, 2025 AT 02:47I keep thinking about the people who got lured in with fake job offers. Imagine believing you’re going to be a crypto trader… and waking up in a cage.
It’s not just the money. It’s the betrayal. The hope they were sold. That’s the real crime.
💔
Nelia Mcquiston
December 15, 2025 AT 04:28This is a perfect example of how prohibition creates black markets. Just like alcohol in the 1920s. Ban something people want, and you don’t stop demand-you just make it more dangerous.
The real solution isn’t more seizures. It’s regulation that’s smart, transparent, and inclusive. Let people trade safely. Stop treating them like criminals. The underground thrives because the legal system failed them.
And now the CBDC? That’s just another form of control. We’re trading one prison for another.
Mark Stoehr
December 16, 2025 AT 15:24Seized $15B? Cool. But who cares? It’s just crypto. People lose money every day in stocks. This is just gambling with a new name. The real issue? People are stupid. And the world is full of predators. End of story.
Shari Heglin
December 17, 2025 AT 18:08There is a fundamental flaw in the narrative presented: the assumption that the ban 'created' the underground market. In reality, the underground market existed prior to the ban, and the ban merely removed regulatory friction, thereby enabling unregulated actors to scale operations with reduced risk of detection. The causal attribution is thus inverted.
Reggie Herbert
December 18, 2025 AT 16:17Let me be clear: this isn't 'crypto.' This is fraud. Period. And calling it 'crypto trading' is a PR move by the criminals to make it sound legit. It's like calling a bank robbery 'cash flow optimization.'
Also, Huione? That's not a company. That's a money laundering algorithm with a name. And the fact that it's still growing after the seizure? That's not resilience-it's incompetence on the part of global regulators.
Murray Dejarnette
December 19, 2025 AT 22:47Bro, I just lost my entire life savings to one of these scams last year. I thought I was investing. Turns out I was just funding someone’s private prison. I don’t care about the $15B seizure. That money isn’t coming back to me.
And now you want to talk about CBDCs? Nah. Just give me back my $42,000. That’s all I ask. 😔
Sarah Locke
December 21, 2025 AT 07:00To everyone reading this: if you’re thinking of investing in crypto through a Telegram group, STOP.
If it sounds too good to be true, it’s not just a scam-it’s a trap designed to break people.
You are not behind. You are not missing out. You are safe.
And if you know someone who’s in Cambodia right now working in one of these compounds? Please. Contact the U.S. State Department. Or Interpol. Do something.
They’re not just victims. They’re people. And they need you.
Mani Kumar
December 23, 2025 AT 00:53Regulatory arbitrage at scale. Cambodia’s institutional weakness enabled a low-cost, high-margin criminal enterprise. The $15B seizure is merely a tactical victory. Structural reform is nonexistent. The game continues.
Tatiana Rodriguez
December 24, 2025 AT 18:41I’ve been thinking about this nonstop since I read it. The fact that these compounds are disguised as hotels and casinos? That’s not just clever-it’s horrifyingly beautiful in its cruelty. They turned tourism into a front for slavery.
And the worst part? The victims who are forced to scam others? They’re not evil. They’re just trying to survive. The system didn’t just exploit crypto-it exploited human desperation.
I keep imagining one of those workers, typing out fake profit screenshots at 3 a.m., praying they won’t be beaten tonight.
We need to see them as people, not statistics.
And we need to do better.
Philip Mirchin
December 24, 2025 AT 21:01Man, I lived in Phnom Penh for a year. The vibe there is… wild. Everyone’s hustling. Some legit, some not. I met a guy who ran a tiny crypto exchange out of his garage. He said, 'We don’t care if it’s legal. We care if it works.'
That’s the real story here. It’s not about crime. It’s about survival. When the system fails you, you build your own. Even if it’s broken.
And yeah, some of it’s evil. But not everyone in the underground is a monster. Some are just trying to feed their kids.
Britney Power
December 26, 2025 AT 01:43The structural deficiencies in Cambodia’s financial infrastructure, coupled with the absence of enforceable anti-money laundering protocols, have created a vacuum of governance that has been systematically exploited by transnational criminal syndicates. The U.S. Department of Justice’s asset forfeiture, while symbolically significant, fails to address the root causes: institutional corruption, geopolitical impunity, and the commodification of human capital within a neoliberal framework of financial exclusion. The CBDC initiative, rather than mitigating the issue, represents a technocratic authoritarian overreach that further entrenches state surveillance under the guise of regulatory reform. This is not a battle against crime-it is a battle for sovereignty, and the victims are the most vulnerable among us.
Maggie Harrison
December 26, 2025 AT 05:53My heart breaks for those trapped in those compounds. But I’m also mad at the world for letting this happen. We could’ve stopped this. We just chose not to look.
Let’s not just seize crypto. Let’s seize compassion.
❤️
Lawal Ayomide
December 27, 2025 AT 19:21Same thing happening in Lagos. Fake crypto jobs. Passports taken. People locked up. Only difference? No one cares. America seizes $15B and gets headlines. Nigeria? Silence.
Global crime doesn’t care about borders. But the world only cares when it hits white people.
Steve Savage
December 29, 2025 AT 14:37That’s the thing nobody talks about. The people who escaped? They don’t go to the police. They’re too scared. Or they’ve been threatened. Or they don’t trust anyone anymore.
And now the U.S. is calling it a 'victory'? What about the ones still inside?
We need safe houses. We need translators. We need real help-not just seizures.
Tatiana Rodriguez
December 30, 2025 AT 14:59You’re right. The seizure made headlines. But the real victory would be rebuilding trust. Giving survivors a voice. Letting them tell their stories without fear.
That’s the work that matters.
Not the Bitcoin. The people.