US Seizes $15 Billion in Bitcoin, Alleging Forced-Labour Fraud Scheme

The US Justice Department has seized 127,271 Bitcoin worth $15 billion in what it calls the largest asset seizure in its history. The coins were stolen from a Chinese-Iranian mining pool called Lubian in December 2020, but their original owner never filed a police report or insurance claim.

The wallets holding the coins sat still for nearly five years, with no signs of movement on the blockchain. It wasn't until October 14, 2025, that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed an indictment and civil forfeiture complaint against Chen Zhi, a 37-year-old businessman who built Prince Group into one of Cambodia's largest conglomerates.

The US government alleges that the coins were never stolen in the conventional sense, but rather internally transferred as part of Chen's network. The indictment frames the 2020 movement as an internal transfer connected to Chen's network, with the wallets later coming under the control of entities the DOJ argues were laundering vehicles for proceeds of forced-labour fraud.

The forfeiture is historic not only because of its value but also because it inverts the usual order of crypto enforcement. Normally, an investigation starts with a complaint, follows the money, and ends at a wallet. In this case, the wallet came first, and analysts had to reverse-engineer the crime from it.