Update 30/10/2025:

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), working in coordination with U.K. authorities, has continued to advance its sanctions action against Chen Zhi and the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization. The network has been linked to large-scale online fraud schemes and forced labor compounds operating across Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Digital assets played a central role in the group’s financial infrastructure, particularly in the aggregation and movement of proceeds derived from scam operations.

The initial OFAC designation on October 14, 2025 identified four Bitcoin addresses associated with the Prince Group. Together, these addresses held approximately 15,957 BTC, valued at around $1.78 billion at the time of the announcement. Scorechain flagged these addresses immediately upon publication, assigning a Critical Risk classification and consolidating them under the entity profile “Chen Zhi – Prince Group TCO (OFAC)” to allow customers to detect and monitor exposure across transaction flows.

The four original addresses recorded significant long-term holding behavior, indicating that they formed part of the organization’s treasury rather than operational wallets. Their inflow patterns reflect a history of fund consolidation from scam revenue streams and subsequent transfers across intermediary clusters. These characteristics align with what is known of the network’s internal financial management structure and the centralized control of resources within the compounds themselves.

OFAC has since expanded the sanctions designation, adding twenty-five additional Bitcoin addresses linked to the same network. These wallets provide further clarity into the financial system supporting the group. On-chain analysis shows that many of the newly listed addresses served as secondary consolidation points or routing intermediaries for funds originating from scam intake wallets associated with forced labor centers. Several have also interacted with mining pool payout addresses, consistent with reporting that cryptocurrency mining was operated alongside scam activities to support liquidity and mask revenue origins.

OFAC updates new bitcoin addresses press release

All twenty-nine Bitcoin addresses tied to the Prince Group are now fully labeled within Scorechain. They continue to carry a Critical Risk rating, with sanctions-based restrictions applying to both direct and indirect exposure. Transactions involving these wallets, regardless of the number of intermediary hops— will surface in Scorechain’s monitoring tools, enabling compliance teams to identify, review, and take action in accordance with regulatory obligations.

The full list of sanctioned Bitcoin addresses is shown below:

bc1qeth6n6ryxexvkx34wnx3nuynun4474h3j0gkhw
bc1q2we5eqjj8je6lz9xwjattpc3pn4jejc5h0s70f
bc1qnujzvts45qka3cr2eqqw8ur3q6g6s0ze2wlk5m
bc1qw4fxztd5u3sl7vrcqwk2a8v5zh5dllvckx3tlt
3EynPFpoGTPxU9m5bPaEDEUxUanzh7vgQP
3FoD1f6Tfnq3s8MYHgJqFPWv9cUrtUdBSv
3MKXKqPXf6VxTLkVSXuDKzaTiZZaz5AmiK
386sPhHBbLidzPnoxUH74jiiYkHYtobefQ
35irs2AU6pVgenYbWvMRz22avDBLC9XMkd
36ia8qAE1k1PKQePdXENCm1YKLXxZyVnnc
374RguZDMNW5Zh5ouW3KhKDcrerKusmsuk
3CuqLrZWn5oCe6DRScdRwiFv8txcahrsG3
3MNWiGeoKAhtTrbJuUXpvSRYJSNvmyJSWE
39HJB4x6W5QuKFEuV1tfcfNveLRJTzcC12
3L1PSCgfPKJAfQCZcoKfbvWf1fBmWM1Bbs
3D44E2Z3PcLa868GeBNiP5E2GPTfVLULUJ
bc1qnq3pzsw3elkecrw8pqrz70r7zuse6cwyxa6dhc
bc1qeaxuj8vamvnxqveleaqgmae33x904xuzj836p3
bc1q66y45cq78ke25kz7rpe94l84avt7zetglzeeqg
bc1qu8mcqffx3jpdwnap88h85u5l5l0xq97438tz2x
bc1qw75cxmxz4e2v265mue9wmqgq2m0qdyr25l2ufl
bc1q7des766x6c0zkycz6dz6rfv066n3fcg4kggtrt
bc1qlwtksgusw8pp3k3a39mkmwvswujhhgn0ulp3uj
bc1qu4p4eynzu8vwwcv0yxq74gth00exjyech05uf0
bc1qw0pswznckx7s6tjmd2f5hrx4q6kc5nyrdxku50
bc1q9kja7t2zxz0ze4lcgxf0l07pygpc69ws528lj9
bc1qea942uw640l7nvtf3vplv6jd6wvuy06c58cd4k
bc1q6qze6uj6jncgnva4eghxn3tr4pm2frh77ad3k9
bc1qcx8vxxrld2s7qvz64qp75s3508rkzaxj65l60q


Scorechain continues to monitor the entity and associated cluster activity. Any additional wallet identifications, fund movement patterns, or attribution developments will be reflected in the platform’s real-time sanctions and risk intelligence updates.

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October 14, 2025:

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the U.K. government, has imposed sweeping sanctions targeting Chen Zhi, leader of the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO).

The action includes four Bitcoin addresses collectively holding around 15,957 BTC, valued at approximately $1.78 billion when the sanctions were announced on October 14, 2025. This marks one of the largest single-party crypto-related OFAC designations to date.

Immediately after the Treasury’s announcement, Scorechain’s blockchain analytics platform identified and updated all four sanctioned Bitcoin addresses, ensuring real-time visibility for compliance teams and financial institutions using its system.

The Sanctioned Bitcoin Addresses

The four Bitcoin addresses identified by OFAC and tracked by Scorechain are:

• bc1qnujzvts45qka3cr2eqqw8ur3q6g6s0ze2wlk5m holding approximately 2,535.15 BTC (~$282.89M)
  
• bc1qw4fxztd5u3sl7vrcqwk2a8v5zh5dllvckx3tlt holding approximately 3,424 BTC (~$382.07M)
  
• bc1qeth6n6ryxexvkx34wnx3nuynun4474h3j0gkhw holding approximately 4,999 BTC (~$557.82M)
  
• bc1q2we5eqjj8je6lz9xwjattpc3pn4jejc5h0s70f holding approximately 4,999 BTC (~$557.94M)
  

Together, these addresses represent a total of roughly $1.78 billion in Bitcoin, all now listed on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Transactions involving these wallets are prohibited for U.S. persons and entities under OFAC regulations.

Scorechain’s Real-Time Sanctions Tracking

Within minutes of the OFAC release, Scorechain automatically flagged and labeled the four Bitcoin addresses as sanctioned. The entity has been added to the platform under the name “Chen Zhi – Prince Group TCO (OFAC)”, allowing users to instantly identify and monitor any related exposure.

Each wallet carries a Critical Risk Score (1/10) and the red flag label “Sanction List” in Scorechain’s compliance system. Users can screen transactions, activate alerts, and trace any movements connected to these wallets across the Bitcoin network.

OFAC’s Focus on Crypto-Enabled Crime

According to OFAC, the Prince Group TCO is responsible for orchestrating large-scale online scams, human trafficking, forced labor, and money laundering operations across Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. The organization reportedly used digital assets and financial intermediaries to move illicit funds internationally while concealing their origins.

This coordinated action by the U.S. and U.K. reflects an expanding global effort to combat cyber-enabled financial crime and to target networks that exploit cryptocurrencies to facilitate illegal activity.

Strengthening Compliance with Blockchain Analytics

The Chen Zhi designation demonstrates why real-time blockchain analytics are crucial in sanctions compliance. As regulators increase scrutiny on crypto activity, Scorechain’s analytics platform enables compliance teams to:

• Detect direct and indirect exposure to sanctioned wallets
  
• Map transaction flows connected to high-risk entities
  
• Automate sanctions alerts and ongoing monitoring
  
• Access detailed entity profiles for due diligence and audits
  

By combining regulatory data with on-chain analysis, Scorechain provides organizations with an always-updated view of global sanctions exposure.

Key Takeaways

The OFAC sanctions against Chen Zhi and the Prince Group TCO mark a significant step in disrupting crypto-enabled transnational crime. With more enforcement actions expected, real-time monitoring and automated compliance updates are essential to prevent inadvertent exposure.

Scorechain continues to track these Bitcoin addresses and related blockchain activity, keeping users informed and compliant with the latest OFAC sanctions data.

Official OFAC Press Release: home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278

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