UK authorities have frozen a London penthouse overlooking Buckingham Palace belonging to Thet Li, the alleged finance chief of Prince Group, following a Foreign Office investigation.
Li, 39, purchased the 13th-floor apartment near St James's Park for £8.9 million in 2022. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned him in October 2025, describing him as a "de facto illicit finance CFO" involved in bulk cash smuggling and managing illicit funds. The UK sanctioned him in March under its global human rights regime, citing his links to Chen Zhi and Prince Group.
UK authorities describe Prince Group as a front for "industrial scale" online fraud, including romance and investment scams known as pig butchering. According to United Nations estimates cited in reports, more than 100,000 trafficked workers are forced to work in the group's operations.
Beyond the penthouse, freezing orders also cover additional London assets: a £12 million mansion in St John's Wood and a £100 million office building in the City of London tied to Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi, who was arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China. Assets linked to Wu An Ming, Chen's alleged second in command, including a £30 million Holland Park mansion and a £53 million Belgravia townhouse, have also been frozen. Wu was arrested in Japan in June.
UK authorities will apply to a court on Monday to continue the seizure of Li's watches and jewelry, valued at £10.6 million, and £92,570 in cash.
The U.S. has sought forfeiture of approximately $14 billion in Bitcoin tied to Prince Group. A Washington-based Scam Center Strike Force has reported $580 million in crypto seizures and freezes. The UK has also sanctioned crypto marketplace Xinbi as part of a broader crackdown on Southeast Asian scam centers.
Prince Group has stated that it "categorically rejects the notion that it or its chairman, Chen Zhi, has engaged in any unlawful activity."
