View of Buckingham. The view is breathtaking, the owner much less so. The United Kingdom has just frozen the London penthouse of Thet Li, alleged financial head of the Prince Group. As a reminder, the United States is already seeking to seize $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to this empire. A reminder that crypto sandcastles sometimes end up seized.
The key points of this article:
The British authorities have thus frozen Thet Li's London penthouse, purchased for 8.9 million pounds in 2022. The man is suspected of being the financial head of the Prince Group.
In addition, a hearing is due to be held this Monday to uphold the seizure of watches and jewelry valued at £10.6 million. Added to this is 92,570 pounds in cash.
Finally, the net widens with a £12m mansion and a £100m office block. The two properties, linked to President Chen Zhi, are also under freeze.
The United States is additionally targeting around $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to the group. The group rejects any accusation and says it is the victim of harassment.
A penthouse above St James’s Park, a freeze in the land register
It was on Sunday that the Times revealed the information, taken up by our colleagues at Decrypt. Moreover, Thet Li, 39, bought an apartment on the 13th floor overlooking St James’s Park and Buckingham Palace in 2022. The bill came to a whopping £8.9 million. Following an investigation by the Foreign Office, the authorities therefore placed a freezing order on the property's file in the British land register. Upstream, the US Treasury had sanctioned him in October 2025 among 146 targets of the Prince Group. The department described him as a “de facto illicit CFO” responsible for cash smuggling and handling dirty money. For its part, the United Kingdom followed in March, via its human rights sanctions regime. London cited its links with Chen Zhi and Cambodian fraud centers where workers allegedly suffered forced labor and cruel treatment.
In fact, the authorities describe the Prince Group as a front for online fraud on an “industrial scale”, according to the British daily. The set includes sentimental and investment scams nicknamed pig butchering. Indeed, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 workers are victims of trafficking forced to operate there. A hearing is also due to be held this Monday to extend the seizure of Li's watches and jewelry, valued at 10.6 million pounds, as well as 92,570 pounds in cash.
A net stretching from St John’s Wood to the Isle of Man
Obviously, the penthouse is just joining an already well-stocked list. According to the Times, the freezing orders also cover a £12 million mansion in St John’s Wood. Added to this is a £100 million office building in the City, both linked to Chen Zhi, the group's chairman. However, the latter was arrested in Cambodia then extradited to China. On the presumed right-hand side, Wu An Ming also sees his assets frozen. A £30 million mansion in Holland Park, and a £53 million mansion in Belgravia, registered in the name of a woman believed to be his wife. Wu was reportedly arrested in Japan in June.
As a reminder, the police also searched two of Li's residences on the Isle of Man last October, in a joint operation with the FBI. On site, the Prince Group would have obtained gaming licenses. These were used, according to the authorities, to launder the proceeds of his crimes. Across the Atlantic, the United States is seeking the confiscation of around $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to the group, a record. At the same time, the Scam Center Strike Force already claims $580 million in seizures and freezes in cryptocurrencies. Finally, for its part, the Prince Group affirmed last year that it “categorically rejects the idea that it or its president Chen Zhi has engaged in any illegal activity”.
