Bitcoin worth $14bn seized in US-UK crackdown on alleged scammers

US prosecutors charged Cambodian national Chen Zhi, founder of the Prince Group, with wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering, and the US government has seized more than $14bn (£10.5bn) in bitcoin. The US Department of Justice alleges the Prince Group built and operated at least ten scam compounds in Cambodia, and that it used forced labour and "phone farms" to run cryptocurrency and social media scams. The UK government says it has frozen assets from Chen's network, including 19 London properties, and sanctioned the group alongside the US. Chen remains at large, and if convicted he faces a maximum of 40 years in jail.