Generic technology illustration, not evidence from the sanctioned scam network. Photo: Markus Spiske / Unsplash.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2026 – The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned four individuals and 41 entities it says support the previously designated Prince Group criminal network, and separately designated a Malaysian man accused of managing Madagascar-based scammers who defrauded Americans of more than $400,000.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control action targets offshore companies, property holders and business-service providers that Treasury alleges helped Prince Group executives conceal assets, evade earlier sanctions and retain access to the international financial system. The 45 Prince-linked targets are distinct from the separate designation of Chui Kok Wa.
These are sanctions designations based on Treasury’s allegations, not criminal convictions. Prince Group itself was already sanctioned; Thursday’s action adds targets in its support network.
Offshore structures and business services under scrutiny
Treasury describes Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization involved in online investment and romance scams, money laundering and Southeast Asian scam compounds using trafficked and coerced workers. It says the group’s proceeds have moved through shell companies, offshore holding structures, financial intermediaries and digital assets.
The new designations build on actions taken on Oct. 14, 2025, and June 23, 2026. According to Treasury, layers of companies, nominee directors and corporate-service providers allowed senior executives to maintain control of assets while hiding beneficial ownership after those sanctions.
Qiu Yong controls British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong companies on the group’s behalf, Treasury alleges. Those holdings include money-lending businesses and companies linked to the wine industry. His assistant, Zhao Mengyao, also known as Amy Zhao, serves as secretary and co-director of multiple Hong Kong companies ultimately controlled by him, the department said.
The action also names He Yujing and Visal Pang, whom Treasury links to previously designated Prince Group executive Chen Bo. Treasury says Chen transferred ownership of a Tokyo mansion to He, his wife, after the October 2025 sanctions. It says Pang controls 11 Cambodian companies, several co-directed with Chen. The department also designated companies connected to previously sanctioned executives Dai An and Thet Li.
A separate Madagascar-based scam operation
In a separate designation, Treasury alleges that Malaysian national Chui Kok Wa led scammers based in Madagascar who used digital assets, online technology and appeals to victims’ sympathy to obtain funds for the network’s private benefit.
The department says that operation defrauded numerous Americans of more than $400,000 equivalent. That figure concerns the alleged losses associated with Chui’s network, not the value of assets blocked in Thursday’s action.
What the sanctions mean for businesses
Property and interests in property of designated persons that are in the United States or held or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Entities owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, individually or in aggregate, by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
Unless licensed or exempt, transactions by U.S. persons or within or transiting the United States involving designated or otherwise blocked persons’ property are generally prohibited. That makes ownership checks relevant beyond the companies expressly named in the announcement.
Treasury said the action was coordinated with the FBI’s New York and Honolulu field offices, the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska. It also credited cooperation from the British Virgin Islands Financial Investigation Agency and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
The release gave no dollar value for blocked assets or seizure total, announced no arrests and did not name any U.S. victim.
JBizNews Desk | Washington
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