LONDON, March 26 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

* UK steps up action to protect British nationals from onlinefraudand prevent human rights abusesthrough new sanctions tackling"scam centres"in Southeast Asia * targets includea major cryptocurrency-basedmarketplaceon which would-be scam victims' data is sold * followsaction last year, which triggered a wave ofassetfreezes and seizuresaround the world,and the closure of hundreds ofscamcentres * comesahead ofthe UK'sIllicit Finance Summit in June, whichwill drive international actionto tackle dirty money

A cryptocurrency networkthroughwhich stolen personal datacanbe sold to fraudsters is sanctioned todayas part ofefforts to dismantle a network of'scam centres', protect British nationalsfrom online fraud,andpreventthe exploitation of trafficked victims.

Across Southeast Asia,scamcentresareusingsophisticated schemes, including scams in which people are lured into fake romantic relationships, to defraud victims on an industrial scale,including inthe UK.

Those conducting thescamsare often trafficked foreign nationals,who have been lured into purpose-builtscamcompounds under the pretence of legitimate jobs, only to be trapped and forced to carry out online fraud under the threat of torture.

Last year, theUK, in coordination with the US,announced sanctions againstthePrince Group and itsChairmanChen Zhi,who are responsible for a huge network of scam centres, triggering a wave of investigations and arrests across the regionandfreezes andseizures of assets worth over £1 billion.

Today the government has stepped up its fight against thesescamcentres, targeting the owners and operators of a recentlyidentifiedfacilityknown as '#8 Park',believed to be Cambodia's largestscamcompound, with capacity to accommodate 20,000 trafficked workers.

The UK is alsothe first country tosanctionXinbi,one of thelargestillicit marketplaces in Southeast Asia,whichprovides cryptocurrency-based servicestoscamcentres - including #8 Park. These services includeselling stolen personaldata,which can be used totargetscamvictims,and satellite internet equipment,which is used to contact victims.

The UK's sanctions willisolate the platformfrom the legitimate crypto ecosystem, significantly disruptingitsoperations by affecting its ability tosend and receive cryptocurrency transactions.BYEX, another cryptocurrency platform that had been used to launderthe proceeds ofscams, shut down followingthe UK'ssanctions last year.

Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty said:

Our sanctions today send a clear message:We will not allow British people to become victims of these dreadful scams or tolerate the awful human rights abuses perpetrated in thesescamcentres.

We must keep up the pressure on dirty money and those whobenefitfrom it. At the Illicit Finance Summit in June,the UKwilldriveinternational action to tackle theways inwhichill-gottenprofitsare laundered andmovedaround the world.

The individuals and entities targeted today include:

* Legend Innovation Co.: theoperatorof#8 Park, a recently identified scam compound linked to the Prince Group and thought to be Cambodia's largest.Legend Innovation Co.'sdirector, EangSoklim,is also sanctioned * Xinbi: a Chinese-languageonlinemarketplacethatenablesthe operation of scam centres in Southeast Asiaby offeringcryptocurrency-based services. It isone ofthe largest such marketplacesand hasfacilitatedthe laundering of stolen crypto assets by North Korea * Thet Li: a key lieutenant of Chen Zhi who has managedthePrince Group's international financial network,including inTaiwan * Hu Xiaowei: a long-term associate of Chen Zhi who has been unmasked asinvolved inthe Prince Group'sfinancial networkunder3 different aliases

Today's sanctions will have an immediate effect, further immobilising this scam network and its financial enablers,who haveprofited from the exploitation of vulnerable people.

A number ofLondonproperties willbe frozenas a result oftoday's sanctions.Thisis in addition to thesubstantialUK assetsalreadyfrozen bypreviousactionagainstthe network, including a £100 million office block in the City of London, 2 multi-million-pound mansions, and a helicopter.

Lord Hanson, Fraud Minister said:

Fraud is a global crime run by organised networks operating across borders and targeting victims at scale. That is why we are acting both at home and abroad.

The launch of our new Online Crime Centre will bring together the police, intelligence agencies and the private sector in the UK to shut down the channels scammers rely on.

Actions like these sanctions and working with international partners through the recently launched UK-backed INTERPOL Global Fraud Taskforce demonstrate our commitment to protect the public and disrupt criminals worldwide.

FollowingtheUK actions,Cambodia's government haslaunchedits largest ever crackdown on thescameconomy, with localauthorities estimating that 2,500 sites have been raided,leading to the closure of hundreds ofscamcentres andthe release of tens of thousands offoreign nationals.

Today's sanctions support the actions being taken by Cambodia and other countries in the region.

At the UK'sIllicit Finance Summitin June,the Foreign Secretary will drive renewed international commitmentto tackle themisuseof property and crypto-assets to launder dirty money andmoveitacross international borders.

Background

Also sanctioned today are:

* Wang Xiaoyan: the wife of Zhu Zhongbiao. Designated in October, Zhu is a director of multiple companies linked to scam centres as well as to the Prince Group * BSquare Technology: a sister company of the Prince-linked crypto playform BYEX * Tian Xu International Technology: a Cambodian company linked to BSquare and Byex * Pang Weizhi: a Prince-linked businessman who is a director of Tian Xu * Wan Kuok Koi: a former triad leader involved in scam centres in Myanmar

View the full UK Sanctions List.

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Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.