The US government has seized more than $US14 billion ($21.6 billion) in bitcoin and charged the founder of a Cambodian conglomerate over an alleged massive cryptocurrency scam.
Prince Holding Group chair Chen Zhi and unnamed alleged co-conspirators have been accused of exploiting forced labour to dupe would-be investors and using the proceeds to purchase yachts, jets and a Picasso painting.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella called it "one of the largest investment fraud operations in history".
Prosecutors said that at one point Mr Chen bragged that the so-called "pig-butchering" scam was pulling in $46m a day.
The have accused Mr Chen of sanctioning violence against workers, authorising bribes to foreign officials and using his other businesses, such as online gambling and cryptocurrency mining, to launder illicit profits.
Mr Chen was the "mastermind behind a sprawling cyber-fraud empire," Assistant Attorney-General John Eisenberg alleged.
The 38-year-old has been charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy offences.
(Source: ABC News)
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