FBI seizes record $8 billion in cryptocurrency in global crackdown on scam compounds

The FBI has arrested hundreds of suspects and seized more than $8 billion in cryptocurrency, the largest forfeiture in U.S. government history, in a sweeping intercontinental operation targeting organized crime networks that ran fortified scam compounds across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

The crackdown, led by FBI Director Kash Patel, dismantled a web of fraud factories that lured victims through romance schemes, fake cryptocurrency investments, and extortion, all while trafficking migrant workers and forcing them to run the scams under threat of beatings and torture.

At the center of the operation sits Chen Zhi, CEO of Cambodia's Prince Holding Group, who now faces federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Agents confiscated more than 127,000 bitcoin from Chen, a haul Fox News reported could be worth more than $15 billion at the time of seizure, depending on market valuations.

A global fraud machine built on forced labor

The scope of the operation is staggering. The FBI ran at least four named operations under an umbrella effort called Operation Blackout: Operation Zephyr Exodus targeted Prince Holding Group in Cambodia; Operation Sand Dollar hit scam compounds across Asia and the United Arab Emirates; Operation Haochen went after the Tai Chang scam compound in Myanmar; and a joint FBI-Thai task force executed the Shunda Compound Takedown in Thailand.

In Dubai alone, authorities arrested 275 people and raided nine compounds, each allegedly pulling in $6 million in fraud proceeds per year. Six of those arrested are being extradited to the United States to face federal charges.

The compounds weren't freelance hustles. An FBI official told Fox News Digital that the operations are "allegedly being tied to Chinese organized crime and were specifically targeting Americans."

The official added that "operations to dismantle additional centers remain underway globally", across Africa, the Middle East, and additional locations in Asia. The bureau has been prioritizing this crackdown for the past 12 months.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella described the Prince Holding Group scheme as "one of the largest investment fraud operations in history," AP News reported. Prosecutors said Chen at one point bragged that the so-called "pig butchering" scam was pulling in $30 million a day. The operation exploited forced labor in Cambodian compounds where migrant workers were coerced into contacting victims via social media to solicit fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.

Nearly 2,000 trafficking victims freed

Behind the financial numbers is a human catastrophe. The compounds didn't just steal from Americans, they enslaved workers to do the stealing. FBI operations freed nearly 2,000 trafficked workers held in guarded facilities across multiple countries.

Photos from February 2025 showed victims of scam centers who had been tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, stranded inside KK Park, a fraud factory and human trafficking hub on the Thailand-Myanmar border, after the multinational crackdown. Other images captured victims floating on vessels across the Moei River toward the Thai border.

The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, an armed militia named after a region in Myanmar, controls the area where the Tai Chang scam compound operated. The U.S. Treasury has designated the group a transnational criminal organization and imposed sanctions for its role in large-scale scamming operations. The Karen Border Guard Force, a separate group, runs KK Park.

The FBI also partnered with Elon Musk's Starlink satellite company, which provided geolocation data to help identify scammers. Starlink suspended more than 7,000 terminals in Myanmar as part of the effort, cutting off a key communications lifeline for the criminal networks.

That kind of public-private cooperation reflects a broader shift in how federal law enforcement is approaching transnational crime. Patel has pushed to overhaul the FBI and move agents into field operations, and the scale of this bust suggests the restructuring is producing results.

The toll on American victims

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received nearly 72,000 complaints in 2025 detailing losses of more than $7.5 billion related to cryptocurrency investment fraud. The United States Institute of Peace estimates criminal syndicates steal roughly $64 billion annually through schemes like these.

One case involved a single American who lost $3 million to a romance scheme. An FBI official noted that other fraud schemes "have been linked to several suicides, historically including extortion cases that were mostly targeting teenagers."

Through a proactive initiative called Operation Level Up, the FBI identified and notified 8,935 victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud. A full 77 percent of those victims had no idea they were being scammed. The notifications prevented an estimated $562 million in additional losses.

FBI Director Patel framed the crackdown in blunt terms in a statement to Fox News Digital:

"Scam compounds are not just call centers. They are organized criminal enterprises built to steal from Americans, launder money, and exploit people at scale."

He continued:

"The FBI has been leading the charge, from taking down Prince Group in Cambodia to Operation Sand Dollar in Dubai. We helped free nearly 2,000 trafficked workers, shut down more than $8 billion in scam center fraud, and arrested nearly 300 people."

An enforcement model that works

The operation's multinational reach, spanning Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Dubai, Africa, and the Middle East, marks a significant escalation in how the federal government pursues organized fraud networks. In Thailand, agents seized thousands of smartphones and office equipment. In Myanmar, they cut satellite access. In Dubai, they arranged extraditions.

The willingness to pursue extraditions and cross-border arrests mirrors other recent federal operations against international criminal organizations. The extradition of a Tren de Aragua leader from Colombia to face terrorism charges in Houston demonstrated the same principle: American law enforcement will reach across borders when Americans are the targets.

The $30 million seized in connection with the Tai Chang compound and other scam operations adds to the financial damage inflicted on these networks. Agents also confiscated devices and equipment that could yield intelligence on additional operations still running.

Dubai has become a recurring backdrop for major international law enforcement operations. The arrest of Irish cartel leader Daniel Kinahan in Dubai after a years-long manhunt showed how the city's role as a global business hub also makes it a magnet for criminal enterprises.

Patel's warning to those running the remaining compounds was direct:

"If you target Americans, we will find you, disrupt your network, and bring every available tool of the federal government down on you."

The FBI says additional operations remain underway. The compounds that haven't been raided yet are now operating in a world where their satellite access can be cut, their cryptocurrency can be traced, and their leaders can be extradited.

Domestically, the fight against organized criminal networks continues on multiple fronts. Federal and state operations have targeted cartel-connected suspects hiding in remote areas across the country, reflecting the same enforcement posture now being applied overseas.

What remains unanswered

Several questions remain. The exact current value of Chen Zhi's seized bitcoin fluctuates with the market, the gap between $8 billion and $15 billion is not trivial. The relationship between the 275 Dubai arrests and the "nearly 300" total cited by Patel is unclear. And the FBI's reference to suicides linked to extortion schemes, particularly those targeting teenagers, demands further detail and public accounting.

What is clear is that these were not small-time internet hustlers. These were fortified compounds, staffed by trafficked workers, backed by Chinese organized crime, and protected by armed militias. They stole billions from Americans and destroyed lives on two continents.

When the federal government actually uses its tools to protect American citizens from foreign criminal enterprises, the results speak for themselves. The question is whether this kind of enforcement will remain the priority, or whether it was the exception.