US Sanctions Cambodia-Based Prince Group Over Trafficking of Kenyans Into Forced Labour at Scam Centres

The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on a Cambodia-based transnational criminal organisation accused of trafficking Kenyans and other foreign nationals into forced labour at online scam compounds across Southeast Asia, as hundreds of Kenyan victims were rescued from the operations in 2026.

The measures, announced on November 5 by the US Department of State and implemented by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, target four individuals and 41 entities linked to the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organisation.

The US Embassy in Nairobi confirmed the action on November 6, stating that the sanctions were directed at networks responsible for recruiting and trapping victims in cyber fraud operations.

“Hundreds of Kenyans were rescued from scam centers in Southeast Asia in 2026. These sanctions target the criminal organizations trafficking Kenyans and others abroad into forced labor in online scam centers,” the embassy said.

The Prince Group network is accused of running sophisticated cyber-enabled fraud schemes, including digital asset investment scams and romance scams, from large-scale compounds in Southeast Asia.

The latest designations build on previous measures imposed in October 2025 and June 2026 targeting the organisation’s leadership, affiliated companies and financial facilitators.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Washington would continue pursuing the networks.

“No criminal network is beyond reach. The Trump Administration will continue to expose, sanction, and dismantle the criminal networks that prey on Americans through cybercrime, fraud, and extortion,” he stated.

Assistant Secretary Riley Barnes noted that the measures build on more than 200 prior designations related to scam centre operations, describing the facilities as enterprises that “rely on trafficked labourers to fuel their criminal operations”.

Kenyan victims are typically lured through fraudulent overseas job advertisements promising positions in customer service, information technology or online sales.

Upon arrival, their travel documents are confiscated and they are confined to guarded compounds where they are forced to conduct online fraud under threat of violence.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi previously told the Senate that 751 Kenyans had been rescued from Myanmar between 2022 and 2026, while 406 were rescued from Cambodia between January and April 2026 alone.

The sanctions also targeted a Malaysian national, Chui Kok Wa, accused of managing a separate Madagascar-based scam network that defrauded American victims.

The action was taken under Executive Order 14390, titled Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens.