Two Chinese men accused of running “industrial-scale” scams tricking vulnerable victims have been sanctioned by the UK government, with their multimillion-pound properties seized.
Chen Zhi and Qiu Wei Ren were the masterminds behind centres in Cambodia and Myanmar that used forced labour to con people around the world out of money through fake romance and cryptocurrency scams, the Foreign Office said.
Their assets, including 19 London properties with one worth nearly £100m, have been frozen, along with businesses linked to them.
They were “ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money”, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
Chen, the leader of the network, incorporated his businesses in the British Virgin Islands and invested in UK property – including a £12m mansion near Primrose Hill and 10 Fenchurch Street, a City of London office building bought for £95m five years ago.
Qiu’s assets include 10 flats in the Nine Elms development in south-west London and seven in the CentrePoint Tower at the end of Oxford Street.
Being sanctioned, as part of a joint operation with US authorities, means the men are now locked out of the UK’s financial system.
Ms Cooper said: “Together with our US allies, we are taking decisive action to combat the growing transnational threat posed by this network – upholding human rights, protecting British nationals and keeping dirty money off our streets.”
Chen is alleged to have built casinos and compounds used as scam centres through his company, The Prince Group, and laundered the proceeds.
People working in scam centres are often foreign nationals lured into work by the promise of a legitimate job, and then forced to carry out the scams under threat of torture.
Four businesses linked to the scams – The Prince Group, Jin Bei Group, Golden Fortune Resorts World Ltd and Byex Exchange – have also been sanctioned.
Two scam centres run by Jin Bei Group and Golden Fortune Resorts were named in an Amnesty International report earlier this year on the use of forced labour and torture in Cambodian scam centres.
Both men were born in China and hold Cambodian, Cypriot and Hong Kong citizenship.
Fraud Minister Lord Hanson said: “Fraudsters prey on the most vulnerable by stealing life savings, ruining trust, and devastating lives. We will not tolerate this.”
Alongside the UK action, Chen was charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
The US Department of Justice said it had also filed its biggest civil forfeiture complaint against bitcoin worth about $15bn (£11.3bn) that were the profits from fraud and money laundering schemes alleged to have been run by Chen.