The FBI says it has seized a record $8 billion in cryptocurrency and arrested hundreds of suspects in a global crackdown on scam compounds and organized crime networks.
The operation targeted groups accused of stealing from Americans through online scams, including one case involving as much as $3 million from a single US victim.
The FBI confiscated more than 127,000 bitcoin during the arrest of Chen Zhi, the CEO of Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group.
The cryptocurrency is worth more than $8 billion and was possibly worth more than $15 billion at the time of seizure. Officials described it as the largest forfeiture in US government history.
Chen Zhi faces federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
Authorities accused Prince Group of running guarded scam compounds around the world. These compounds are allegedly used in online fraud schemes to steal money from victims in the US and other countries.
An FBI official told Fox News Digital that more scam compounds in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have been linked to Chinese organized crime and were specifically targeting Americans.
The official said global operations to dismantle more centers are still underway.
FBI Director Kash Patel said scam compounds are organized criminal enterprises built to steal from Americans, launder money, and exploit people at scale.
Patel said the FBI helped free nearly 2,000 trafficked workers, shut down more than $8 billion in scam center fraud, and arrested nearly 300 people.
In Thailand, the FBI seized thousands of smartphones and office equipment from a scam operation.
In Dubai, local police and the FBI arrested 275 people. Six of them are expected to be extradited to the US to face federal charges.
Each of the nine compounds raided in Dubai was allegedly generating $6 million in fraud proceeds each year.
The crackdown also involves the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, an armed militia in Myanmar.
The group has faced US Treasury sanctions over alleged links to large-scale scam operations. It has also been connected to scam compounds operating in territory under its control.
One related investigation, called Operation Haochen, focused on the Tai Chang scam compound in Kyaukhat, Myanmar. The area is controlled by the DKBA, and the compound was allegedly linked to Chinese criminal actors.
The FBI seized $30 million tied to Tai Chang and other scam compounds.
Some scam networks allegedly used human trafficking victims as forced labor.
According to the FBI, scammers often lure people with promises of good income and work visas. Once inside the compounds, victims are forced to carry out scams under threats of beatings or other torture methods.
The FBI official said some fraud schemes have been linked to suicides, including extortion cases that historically targeted teenagers.
The FBI also worked with Starlink by providing geolocation data to identify scammers allegedly using Starlink terminals for fraud.
Through the partnership, Starlink suspended more than 7,000 terminals in Myanmar, according to the bureau.
The broader crackdown, called Operation Blackout, included several separate investigations.
Operation Zephyr Exodus focused on Prince Holding Group.
Operation Sand Dollar targeted scam compounds operated by organized crime groups in Asia that preyed on Americans in the UAE.
Operation Haochen focused on the Tai Chang compound in Myanmar.
The Shunda Compound Takedown involved the FBI and Thai partners. That investigation led to two arrests in Thailand and the seizure of a Telegram channel used to recruit forced labor into a Cambodian law enforcement impersonation scam.
The FBI also launched Operation Level Up, a proactive effort to identify and warn victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud.
Through the operation, the FBI has notified 8,935 victims. The bureau said 77 percent of them did not know they were being scammed.
The FBI said those alerts have prevented $562 million in losses.
The operation began after the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received a series of complaints in 2025. During the year, IC3 received nearly 72,000 complaints involving more than $7.5 billion in losses tied to cryptocurrency investment fraud.
The FBI believes those figures significantly understate the actual losses.
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