Thai authorities have launched a major offensive against transnational scam networks operating in Southeast Asia, seizing more than $300 million in assets and issuing arrest warrants for 42 individuals, including prominent figures linked to the Prince Group conglomerate.

The crackdown targets operations accused of running industrial-scale online fraud centers across the Thailand-Myanmar-Cambodia border region, an area that has become synonymous with human trafficking and cybercrime.

Among those implicated is Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, head of the US-sanctioned Prince Group. Authorities also named Cambodians Kok An and Yim Leak, accusing them of involvement in sophisticated scam compounds that exploit trafficked labor to execute global cyber scams.

Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) stated that the investigation uncovered links between the suspects and networks involved in online fraud, human trafficking, and money laundering. Some seized assets were tied to Chen, although it remains unclear if he is among the 29 individuals already arrested.

Chen is also under indictment in the US for allegedly orchestrating wire fraud and money laundering schemes through Prince Group. While the company has denied all allegations, international scrutiny has intensified. Authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore have already frozen over $470 million in assets connected to the group.

Industrialized online fraud and forced labor

According to reports from the UN and regional watchdogs, criminal networks in Southeast Asia have evolved into highly structured operations, what analysts now call "fraud factories." The Prince Group is alleged to have managed such fraud compounds in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville, turning the area into a hub for online fraud after online gambling bans were imposed.

Victims are often young, educated, and multilingual, lured from countries including India, Malaysia, China, Kenya, and Vietnam with promises of high-paying tech jobs, such as "customer service representatives" or "IT support" roles in Thailand.

Upon arrival, many are abducted and transported across borders into scam compounds. These individuals are sold to criminal syndicates for prices ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 each. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped in scam compounds across Southeast Asia, while thousands have been rescued in coordinated raids over the past year.

Once inside, victims are subjected to forced labor under threat of violence and debt bondage. Victims are reportedly charged for basic necessities, pushed to meet financial targets, and punished if they fail. Some report beatings, torture, and even being resold to harsher facilities such as KK Park in Myanmar, a site infamous for its violence and rumored organ trafficking.

Growing international pressure

As Southeast Asia's online fraud industry continues to expand, generating estimated revenues exceeding $25 billion annually, countries like the US, UK, and South Korea have begun targeting the financial structures behind these networks, not just the low-level operatives.

Efforts to curb these networks face challenges, however. Criminal groups are reportedly shifting operations to emerging "gray zones" such as Timor-Leste, and are leveraging technologies like AI-generated deepfakes and encrypted communications to stay ahead of law enforcement.