NAIROBI, Kenya- The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on individuals and companies linked to a Cambodia-based transnational criminal organisation accused of running cyber-enabled fraud, money laundering and human-trafficking operations, as hundreds of Kenyans continue to be rescued from scam centres in Southeast Asia.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Thursday sanctioned four individuals and 41 entities supporting the business network of the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organisation.
The action also targeted Malaysian national Chui Kok Wa, whom U.S. authorities accuse of managing a network of scammers operating from Madagascar and targeting American victims through digital-asset fraud.
The U.S. Embassy in Kenya said the sanctions were significant for Kenyans, noting that hundreds of citizens had been rescued from scam centres in Southeast Asia in 2026.
“These sanctions target the criminal organisations trafficking Kenyans and others abroad into forced labour in online scam centres,” the embassy said.
Scam compounds rely on trafficked labour
According to the U.S. Treasury, Prince Group-linked actors have generated billions of dollars through cyber-enabled fraud schemes, including digital asset investment scams, romance scams and other forms of online financial fraud.
Many of the operations have been linked to large scam compounds in Southeast Asia, where trafficked and coerced workers are forced to target victims around the world.
The groups use shell companies, offshore holding firms, financial facilitators and cryptocurrency transactions to conceal ownership, move illicit money and keep access to the international financial system, Treasury said.
The newly sanctioned individuals and entities are accused of helping the Prince Group sustain its operations after earlier U.S. designations in October 2025 and June 2026.
The measures generally block any property or interests in property held by the designated persons within the United States or under the control of U.S. persons. They also prohibit most transactions involving the targeted individuals and entities unless authorised by OFAC.
The Prince Group was first designated by the United States in October 2025 over allegations that its network operated scam compounds dependent on human trafficking and forced labour.
Kenyan victims lured by false job offers
Kenya has increasingly been affected by trafficking networks operating in the Southeast Asian “Golden Triangle” , a region covering Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.
In May, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told the Senate Labour Committee that 751 Kenyans had been rescued from Myanmar between 2022 and 2026, while 406 Kenyans had been rescued from Cambodia between January and April 2026.
Of the Kenyans rescued from Cambodia during that period, 305 had been repatriated, according to the government’s figures.
Mudavadi said traffickers often target young people seeking jobs abroad through fraudulent advertisements for customer care, information technology, cryptocurrency trading, translation and online casino work.
Victims are frequently recruited through online interviews and promised well-paying jobs in Thailand or other Asian countries, only to have their travel documents confiscated after arrival and be moved into scam compounds.
Authorities say many are then subjected to surveillance, confinement, violence, debt bondage and threats while being forced to take part in online fraud.
The government has warned that trafficking networks exploit Kenya’s youth unemployment challenge and growing demand for overseas work opportunities.
Separate Madagascar fraud case
Treasury’s action also singled out Chui Kok Wa, who it said led a network of scammers in Madagascar that defrauded American victims, including through digital-asset schemes.
On October 27, U.S. prosecutors unsealed charges against Chui and others, accusing them of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with an alleged crypto-enabled investment scheme run from Madagascar.
The U.S. Department of Justice said investigators recovered material pointing to a structured operation, including employment records, work schedules, scripts used to deceive victims and cryptocurrency wallet information.
A U.S. official said the latest sanctions build on more than 200 earlier designations targeting criminal organisations linked to scam centres.
“No criminal network is beyond reach,” the U.S. said, pledging to continue using sanctions and criminal investigations against networks involved in cybercrime, fraud, extortion and human trafficking.
The latest action places renewed focus on the need for stronger recruitment oversight, public awareness and cross-border cooperation to protect Kenyans from being lured into forced criminality abroad.
