UK sanctions Cambodia-based scam centre and crypto platform
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Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration picture taken in Paris, France, March 9, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration
By Sam Tabahriti
LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday sanctioned the operators of what it described as the largest fraud compound in Cambodia and an online crypto marketplace used to trade stolen personal data, in a bid to protect people in the UK from organised online scams.
The action marks the country's latest attempt to disrupt what it called a fast-growing network of "scam centres" in Southeast Asia, where workers end up confined in guarded compounds and forced to commit online fraud.
Britain's Foreign Office said the centres had targeted victims globally, using schemes ranging from fake investment pitches to fabricated romantic relationships.
The government designated Legend Innovation, operator of a newly identified Cambodian compound known as "#8 Park", which it said was the country's largest scam site. It said it has a capacity to accommodate 20,000 trafficked workers.
It also sanctioned Xinbi, a Chinese-language crypto marketplace that provides tools and services used by fraud networks, including the sale of stolen personal data and satellite communication equipment.
Neither Legend Innovation or Xinbi could be immediately reached for comment.
The sanctions - targeting the two entities plus three individuals - will also freeze several London properties linked to the network, including a 9 million pound ($12 million) penthouse near Westminster.
Foreign office minister Stephen Doughty said the measures were intended to "send a clear message".
"We will not allow British people to become victims of these dreadful scams or tolerate the awful human rights abuses perpetrated in these scam centres," he said.
The latest sanctions follow coordinated action with the United States last year against Cambodia's Prince Group, which ministers said then helped trigger regional raids and the closure of hundreds of scam operations.
($1 = 0.7490 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by Sarah Young)
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