The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned four people and 41 entities that it says helped sustain the corporate network behind Prince Group after earlier enforcement actions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the designations on November 5, describing a web of offshore companies, nominees and service providers that allegedly concealed ownership, moved property and maintained commercial activity for previously sanctioned executives.

A third round aimed at corporate infrastructure

Treasury said the action builds on Prince Group designations issued in October 2025 and June 2026. The new targets include companies connected to Qiu Yong, Zhao Mengyao, He Yujing and Visal Pang, as well as businesses tied to already sanctioned executives Chen Bo, Dai An and Thet Li. The agency alleges that members of the network managed offshore structures and transferred assets or ownership interests in attempts to work around earlier restrictions.

Related reporting: U.S. Sanctions Crypto Facilitators Behind North Korean IT Worker Scheme

Why the crypto connection matters

Treasury has linked Prince Group to digital-asset investment scams, romance scams and other online fraud aimed at victims in the United States and elsewhere. Its release says some operations relied on trafficked or coerced workers in Southeast Asian scam compounds, while proceeds moved through international corporate and financial channels. The November action focuses on the business infrastructure supporting that alleged activity rather than announcing a new cryptocurrency seizure or identifying a new set of wallet addresses.

What the sanctions require

Property and interests in property belonging to designated persons are blocked when they are in the United States or under the possession or control of U.S. persons. Covered property must also be reported to OFAC. The restrictions generally prohibit U.S. persons, and transactions within or transiting the United States, from dealing with blocked property unless an exemption or an OFAC license applies.

Ownership can extend the reach

The practical scope is broader than the names in the announcement. OFAC's standing ownership rule also blocks entities owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by one or more blocked persons, including when ownership is aggregated. Banks, payment firms, crypto businesses and other counterparties therefore need to examine beneficial ownership as well as sanctions-list matches. Treasury warned that civil enforcement can apply on a strict-liability basis, meaning intent is not always required for a penalty.

A separate cyber designation

OFAC also designated Malaysian national Chui Kok Wa under a separate cyber-related authority. Treasury alleges that he managed an Africa-based scam network that took more than $400,000, including digital assets, from U.S. victims. That target is distinct from the four people and 41 entities designated under the transnational-crime authority, bringing the day's action to 46 targets across the two legal bases.

Sanctions are not criminal verdicts

The designations impose financial restrictions and record Treasury's administrative findings; they do not by themselves establish a criminal conviction against every person or company named. Independent reporting has described the action as an effort to disrupt shell companies and financial facilitators, but the government must still support any separate criminal case through the applicable judicial process. For compliance teams, the immediate issue is screening and reporting, while the longer-term question is whether the network can continue operating through new owners, jurisdictions or service providers.

What remains uncertain

Treasury did not quantify how much money the newly designated entities currently control or estimate how much alleged fraud the action will prevent. It also did not say whether additional jurisdictions will mirror the U.S. restrictions. The next evidence will come from asset freezes, corporate-registration changes, enforcement notices and any formal challenges or criminal proceedings that follow.

Sources

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