The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned four people and 41 entities on November 5, 2026, alleging they helped Prince Group continue operating after earlier sanctions through offshore company structures and commercial services. Property and interests in property held in the United States, or held or controlled by US persons, must be blocked and reported to OFAC. The restrictions may also apply to companies owned at least 50% by blocked persons, making ownership chains a key part of sanctions screening.
OFAC has described Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization and said its associates were involved in digital-asset investment scams, romance scams and other online fraud. Some of the operations relied on workers subjected to human trafficking and coercion at compounds in Southeast Asia. The latest action targets what the Treasury alleges is a network of companies and individuals supporting the group, rather than a single business.
Sanctions target four people and a network of companies
The individuals designated are Qiu Yong, Zhao Mengyao, He Yujing and Visal Pang. US authorities say Qiu is linked to Hong Kong moneylender Premium Financial Limited through Sun Speed Holdings Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The Treasury alleges Qiu is the ultimate owner of Premium Financial and used it to control other companies in Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands on Prince Group’s behalf.
The Treasury also says Zhao was Qiu’s personal assistant and served as company secretary and co-director at several Hong Kong companies ultimately controlled by him. The relationships cited in the sanctions action point to scrutiny of formal corporate roles, ultimate beneficial ownership and the movement of funds and business services across jurisdictions.
He is the wife of Chen Bo, a Prince Group executive. The Treasury alleges that after a sanctions action in October 2025, Chen transferred ownership of a luxury home in Tokyo to He. Pang, another person designated in the latest action, is alleged to control 11 Cambodian companies, several of which he co-directed with Chen. The US sanctioned Chen on June 23, 2026.
The action also covers companies linked to previously sanctioned Prince Group executives Dai An and Thet Li. The Treasury says Singapore-based Greenbay Multi Media is wholly owned by Thet Li. These company and individual connections represent some of the alleged network’s pathways; they do not establish that every related company belongs to the same ownership chain.
OFAC’s 50% rule extends screening beyond listed names
OFAC restrictions are not limited to individuals and entities named directly on its sanctions list. A company is also considered blocked if one or more blocked persons own at least 50% of it, directly or indirectly. Their ownership stakes can be aggregated. As a result, a counterparty may fall within the restrictions even if its name does not appear on the public list, making it important to check ultimate ownership and the combined holdings of multiple sanctioned shareholders.
Under US rules, property and interests in property belonging to designated persons must be blocked if they are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons, and must be reported to OFAC. Unless a transaction is authorized by a general or specific license or covered by an applicable exemption, US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with designated persons or other blocked property. Transactions also may not take place in the United States or pass through the country.
The Treasury says sanctions violations can result in civil or criminal penalties, and civil liability may apply on a strict-liability basis in some cases. OFAC compliance guidance calls for ownership due diligence in transaction and account relationships. The latest designations and the 50% rule underscore why screening a company’s name alone may not be enough: firms also need to identify beneficial owners, controlling parties and indirect ownership links.