The FBI said Operation Blackout resulted in the seizure of more than $8 billion in digital assets, the largest cryptocurrency forfeiture in U.S. government history. Fox News first reported the case on May 28, 2026. The operation also led to nearly 300 arrests worldwide and the rescue of close to 2,000 people held inside so-called scam compounds.
127,000 bitcoin linked to the largest single seizure
The biggest asset haul was tied to Chen Zhi, identified in the report as the CEO of Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group. Agents confiscated more than 127,000 bitcoin from him, valued at over $8 billion and possibly as high as $15 billion at the time of seizure. The source also said each scam compound could generate around $6 million a year, while some individual American victims lost as much as $3 million to a single operation.
Operations stretched across Cambodia, Dubai, Myanmar, and Thailand
The FBI said it dismantled several groups, including the Prince Group in Cambodia, Operation Sand Dollar in Dubai, and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army in Myanmar. The report said the DKBA has alleged ties to Chinese organized crime and has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury as a transnational criminal organization.
One investigation, Operation Haochen, focused on the Tai Chang scam compound in Kyaukhat, Myanmar, an area under DKBA control. That case alone produced a $30 million seizure tied to the compound and related actors. In a separate joint effort called the Shunda Compound Takedown, the FBI worked with Thai law enforcement, leading to two arrests in Thailand and the shutdown of a Telegram channel used to recruit trafficked workers into a fake Cambodian law enforcement scheme.
More than 7,000 Starlink terminals were suspended
The report also pointed to a role for Starlink. The satellite provider suspended over 7,000 terminals in Myanmar after the FBI flagged them as actively supporting fraud operations. That detail shows how the infrastructure behind these schemes extended beyond wallets and transfers to communications networks as well.
Victim alerts blocked another $562 million in losses
Alongside seizures and arrests, the bureau ran a proactive notification program called Operation Level Up. It contacted 8,935 people who were actively being targeted and prevented an estimated $562 million in additional losses. According to the source, the schemes relied on fake romantic relationships, fabricated requests for financial help, and bogus crypto investment pitches commonly described as pig butchering.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the compounds modern criminal enterprises built to steal from Americans, launder money, and exploit trafficked workers. An FBI official also told Fox News Digital that more compounds across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East remain under investigation, with additional global operations still in progress.