WLFI partner AB Network reported to be connected with sanctioned Cambodian scam-related companies

ME News report, April 9 (UTC+8). AB network, which has partnered with the Trump-supported crypto project World Liberty Financial, is involved in a “blockchain-themed resort” project planned in East Timor. The project involves three individuals who have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, and these individuals are connected to Cambodia’s Prince Group, which has been accused of operating a global scam network. According to company records, the development company’s major shareholder, Yang Jian, was sanctioned last October for allegedly collaborating with Prince Group CEO Chen Zhi. After the sanctions were announced, the three sanctioned individuals were removed from the project. There is currently no evidence that illegal funds flowed into the development project, nor any direct link between AB network and Prince Group.

In November last year, AB network announced it had established a partnership with World Liberty Financial, granting permission to use the stablecoin USD1 on its blockchain. World Liberty Financial said it had conducted due diligence on AB and that it had not been informed of the resort project or the sanctioned individuals related to the East Timor project. Its lawyers said the claim that there is a connection to sanctioned individuals is “baseless and untrue.”

According to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, the U.S. lost nearly $21 billion last year due to online scams, including more than $11 billion in fraud losses related to cryptocurrency. The U.S. government last year seized $15 billion worth of Bitcoin from Chen Zhi. Cambodian authorities arrested Chen Zhi in January this year and extradited him to China. At present, the maximum total supply of USD1 on the World Liberty Financial blockchain is about $3.6 million, held by only about 3,000 people. (Source: ODaily)