Prince Group: UK freezes £8.9 million penthouse of alleged CFO

View of Buckingham. The view is stunning, but the owner is much less so. The UK has just frozen the London penthouse of Thet Li, the alleged CFO of Prince Group. As a reminder, the United States is already seeking to seize $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to this empire. This serves as a reminder that crypto sandcastles sometimes end up seized.

Key points of this article:

• British authorities have frozen Thet Li's London penthouse, purchased for £8.9 million in 2022. The man is suspected of being the CFO of Prince Group.
• Additionally, a hearing is set to take place this Monday to maintain the seizure of watches and jewelry valued at £10.6 million. This is in addition to £92,570 in cash.
• Finally, the net is widening with a £12 million mansion and a £100 million office building. Both properties, linked to President Chen Zhi, are also under freezing orders.
• The United States is also targeting around $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to the group. The group denies any accusations and claims to be a victim of persecution.

A penthouse above St James's Park, a freeze in the land registry

It was on Sunday that the Times revealed the information, which was picked up by our colleagues at Decrypt. In fact, Thet Li, 39, had purchased an apartment on the 13th floor overlooking St James's Park and Buckingham Palace in 2022. The bill amounted to the modest sum of £8.9 million. Following an investigation by the Foreign Office, authorities placed a freeze order on the property in the UK land registry. Previously, the US Treasury had sanctioned him in October 2025 among 146 targets of Prince Group. The department described him as an "illicit de facto CFO" responsible for cash smuggling and managing dirty money. For its part, the UK followed suit in March, through its human rights sanctions regime. London cited his links to Chen Zhi and Cambodian fraud centers where workers allegedly suffer forced labor and cruel treatment.

In fact, authorities describe Prince Group as an "industrial-scale online fraud facade", according to the British daily. The whole operation includes romance scams and investment scams dubbed pig butchering. Indeed, the UN estimates that over 100,000 workers are victims of forced trafficking operating there. A hearing is also set to take place this Monday to extend the seizure of Li's watches and jewelry, valued at £10.6 million, as well as £92,570 in cash.

A net extending from St John's Wood to the Isle of Man

Of course, the penthouse is just joining a well-stocked list. According to the Times, the freeze orders also cover a £12 million mansion in St John's Wood. Additionally, there is a £100 million office building in the City, both linked to Chen Zhi, the group's president. However, the latter had been arrested in Cambodia and then extradited to China. As for the alleged right-hand man, Wu An Ming also sees his assets frozen. A £30 million mansion in Holland Park, and a £53 million townhouse in Belgravia, registered in the name of a woman presumed to be his wife. According to available information, Wu was reportedly arrested in Japan in June.

As a reminder, police also raided Li's two residences on the Isle of Man last October, in a joint operation with the FBI. On-site, Prince Group allegedly obtained gaming licenses. These were reportedly used by authorities to launder the proceeds of its crimes. Across the Atlantic, the United States is seeking the confiscation of around $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to the group, a record. Meanwhile, the Scam Center Strike Force already claims $580 million in seizures and freezes in cryptocurrencies. Ultimately, for its part, Prince Group stated last year that it "categorically rejects the idea that it or its president Chen Zhi engaged in any illegal activity".

In the end, the case illustrates a turning point. Financial watchdogs are no longer content to trace stablecoins; they are now targeting real estate. An era where frozen assets also count in bitcoins locked in a monitored reserve. It remains to be seen whether the $14 billion targeted by Washington will follow the path of the London penthouse.

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