Britain freezes $72m Belgravia property over ties to sanctioned Prince Group figure
British authorities have frozen a $72-million property in London connected to an alleged associate of the Prince Group, the sanctioned Cambodian conglomerate accused of operating cyber-fraud compounds staffed in part by trafficked workers.
Documents from the U.K. Land Registry show that a woman named Zhao Chen purchased the central London property in October 2023 for £53 million ($72 million). The townhouse on a private estate in the upscale neighborhood of Belgravia features a private swimming pool and spas, according to promotional material.
British authorities placed a freeze order on the property late last month, according to the official filings obtained by Transparency International and shared with OCCRP.
The filings show that the order was made due to Zhao Chen’s association with Wu An Ming, who the U.K. has designated as “an asset freeze target.” The filings do not provide information about his relationship with Zhao Chen, but OCCRP found they were married.
Official documents from the Cyprus Ministry of Interior confirm that they obtained citizenship in the Mediterranean nation together in 2018 as husband and wife.
Wu An Ming is one of several identities used by a man born in China under the name Hu Xiaowei. OCCRP revealed last November that Hu Xiaowei owned about $45-million worth of property in the U.K. He has been sanctioned by the U.S. as well as the U.K.
Zhao Chen has not been sanctioned. Neither she nor Hu Xiaowei responded to requests for comment.
Hu Xiaowei was sanctioned for his alleged association with the Prince Group, which the U.S. has dubbed a “transnational criminal organization.” American authorities allege that the Prince Group ran compounds in Cambodia where workers were held against their will, and forced to participate in “industrial-scale” cyber-scamming.
The Prince Group has strenuously and repeatedly denied allegations of any illegal activity by its companies, or its chairman Chen Zhi, who has been sanctioned and indicted in the U.S.
A spokesperson previously told OCCRP that the conglomerate was “not a criminal syndicate but a collection of legitimate businesses serving millions of people and employing tens of thousands of people across the globe.”
“Chen Zhi and the Prince Group of companies are innocent of the wild and unfounded accusations made by the U.S government, parroted in jurisdictions around the world,” the spokesperson said.
Corporate records show Zhao Chen had other ties to people associated with the Prince Group.
Zhao Chen was, until December 2025, listed as a shareholder in AB Digital Technology Resort Lda, which an OCCRP investigation revealed was involved in the planned development of a “blockchain theme resort” in the Southeast Asian nation of Timor Leste. Both the majority shareholder and the managing director of AB Digital Technology Resort have been sanctioned for their alleged involvement in the Prince Group.
Zhao Chen was born in China’s Sichuan province, according to her Cypriot passport, which she used to register her ownership of shares in the Timor Leste company in 2025.
The freeze of Zhao Chen’s London property comes amid a strategy announced in June by U.K. authorities to target assets suspected of being acquired with the proceeds of illicit activity, including fraud and cyber-crime.
In addition to sanctions, Hu Xiaowei has been subject to asset freezes in Hong Kong, and a money laundering investigation in Singapore. He has also been indicted in Taiwan.
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