A company partnered with World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency project backed by President Donald Trump, has been connected to individuals sanctioned over alleged ties to a Cambodian conglomerate accused of operating large-scale global fraud schemes. The findings were published Monday by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and Guardian Australia. The investigation centers on AB Network, which announced a formal partnership with World Liberty Financial in November.
At the heart of the inquiry is a planned blockchain-themed luxury resort in Timor-Leste, promoted as a destination for cryptocurrency innovators and backed by a local development company established with $10 million in capital. Corporate records show the majority shareholder of that development company was Yang Jian, a Cyprus-based businessman sanctioned in October for allegedly working with Prince Group CEO Chen Zhi on a separate resort project that U.S. authorities described as a predatory investment. Two other individuals connected to the project were also later sanctioned as part of a broader crackdown on the Cambodia-based conglomerate.
The three sanctioned individuals were removed from the Timor-Leste project shortly after the sanctions were announced. Investigators found no evidence that illicit funds entered the development, and no direct connection between AB Network and the Prince Group has been established. Promotional material for the resort was removed from AB’s websites after OCCRP reporters began making inquiries. One key figure, entrepreneur Lin Xiaofan, said the project remains active but that AB is no longer involved, providing documentation indicating the partnership ended in November.
The Prince Group, led by Chen Zhi, has been accused by U.S. authorities of running one of the world’s largest online fraud networks, allegedly generating tens of billions of dollars annually through scam operations across Southeast Asia. The U.S. government seized $15 billion worth of Bitcoin from Chen in what it described as its largest-ever forfeiture action against online scammers. The company has denied wrongdoing, and Cambodian authorities arrested and extradited Chen to China in January.
World Liberty Financial, founded in 2024 by partners including companies affiliated with the Trump and Witkoff families, stated it conducted due diligence on AB Network and was not informed of the resort project or of individuals linked to it. Lawyers for the company told investigators it is committed to responsible practices and compliance, and described claims of connections to sanctioned figures as unfounded and untrue. The firm did not respond to additional requests for comment.
The partnership between AB Network and World Liberty Financial granted AB the right to use World Liberty’s U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1 on its blockchain. Despite the arrangement, uptake has been limited, with a maximum total supply of approximately $3.6 million and just over 3,000 holders recorded. AB continues to promote the partnership and its network of political advisers, which includes former world leaders listed as advisers to its Ireland-registered nonprofit arm.
AB Network’s corporate structure has been described as opaque, comprising an Irish nonprofit, a Cayman Islands foundation, and blockchain-based entities governed by token holders. The OCCRP identified two previously undisclosed figures — software developer Sui Chenggang and Lin Xiaofan — as key actors within the network. Lin said he introduced Sui to World Liberty executives, while denying any personal connection to the Prince Group.
The investigation arrives amid a broader surge in cryptocurrency-related fraud. According to the FBI‘s 2025 Internet Crime Report, Americans lost nearly $21 billion to online scams last year, with more than one million complaints filed. Cryptocurrency fraud accounted for the largest share of those losses, totaling more than $11 billion across 181,565 complaints.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
