The United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has enacted sanctions against Xinbi, a Chinese-language online marketplace engaged in the sale of stolen data and satellite internet equipment to scam networks operating in Southeast Asia.
Xinbi has been implicated in facilitating cryptocurrency laundering for North Korean threat actors, involving substantial amounts of cryptocurrency stolen from businesses and individuals globally.
As reported by the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, Xinbi has processed over $19.9 billion between 2021 and 2025. Its operations encompass a variety of illicit activities, including unlicensed over-the-counter trades, money laundering, and the sale of compromised personal databases.
The sanctions issued today also specifically target #8 Park, a large-scale scam facility associated with the Prince Group crime syndicate, as well as Legend Innovation Co, the operator of #8 Park.
"Today the government has intensified its efforts against these scam centers by targeting the owners and operators of a newly identified facility known as '#8 Park.' This compound is believed to be Cambodia’s largest scam operation, equipped to house up to 20,000 trafficked workers," stated the FCDO on Thursday.
"The UK stands alone as the first nation to impose sanctions on Xinbi, recognized as one of the largest illicit marketplaces in Southeast Asia, which offers cryptocurrency-based services to scam centers, including #8 Park."
The sanctions by the FCDO aim to exclude Xinbi from the legitimate cryptocurrency ecosystem, effectively disrupting its ability to send or receive cryptocurrency payments. This follows the precedent set when the Byex Exchange cryptocurrency platform ceased operations after receiving sanctions from the UK last year.
Scam centers throughout Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos are notorious criminal operations frequently run by Chinese crime syndicates. These organizations often coerce individuals, many of whom are foreign nationals, to participate in expansive criminal schemes that target victims worldwide through cryptocurrency investment scams, commonly referred to as pig butchering or romance baiting.
These operations typically reach out to potential victims via social media, messaging applications, and dating platforms, utilizing illegally obtained information purchased from specialized online resources like Xinbi to ensnare individuals into fraudulent investment propositions. Instead of actually investing, the scammers divert the funds into accounts they control.
"Our sanctions today convey a decisive message: We will not permit UK citizens to fall victim to these abhorrent scams, nor will we tolerate the severe human rights violations occurring in these scam centers," expressed Stephen Doughty, the UK’s Minister of State for Europe, North America, and Overseas Territories.
"We must maintain pressure on illicit financial activities and those who benefit from them. At the Illicit Finance Summit in June, the UK will spearhead international initiatives to combat the avenues through which ill-gotten gains are laundered and circulated globally."
This recent action comes on the heels of a comprehensive wave of asset seizures, freezes, and the dismantling of hundreds of scam centers in October 2025, following coordinated sanctions by the FCDO and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against the Cambodian Prince Group crime organization and its leader, Chen Zhi. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice has seized $15 billion in bitcoin belonging to Zhi, who is currently evading capture.
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