2025年10月中旬，柬埔寨商界震撼傳出重大金融風暴。當地知名企業「太子集團」（Prince Group）因被美國與英國聯合制裁，導致旗下的「太子銀行」陷入信任危機與現金擠兌風潮。根據外媒報導，美英兩國政府指控太子集團涉及龐大的跨國電信詐騙、洗錢與非法加密貨幣交易活動，並指出該集團創辦人陳志（Chen Zhi）為幕後主腦，目前已潛逃，行蹤不明。

在制裁消息公布後，柬埔寨國內民眾陷入恐慌。10月18日清晨，大批民眾湧向太子銀行各地分行提款，長長的取款人潮擠滿銀行門口。由於短期內提款金額暴增，銀行流動性迅速告急，部分分行被迫暫停營業，而太子銀行的官方網站及手機應用程式一度癱瘓無法使用，顯示整個金融體系受到嚴重衝擊。

太子銀行是柬埔寨最大、最具影響力的商業銀行之一，其母公司太子集團長期與政府關係密切，涉足房地產、金融、建設、教育等多個產業。過去，太子集團以「新柬埔寨經濟奇蹟推手」為名，擁有龐大的政治與經濟影響力。然而此次遭到國際制裁後，柬埔寨民眾對該集團的信任全面崩潰，外界紛紛質疑該集團長年「黑金運作」與「跨境洗錢」的真實面貌。

根據美國司法部早前發布的調查報告，美方已查扣柬埔寨電信詐騙網絡相關的近13萬枚比特幣，市值高達150億美元，並明確指出太子集團為該犯罪網絡的幕後金主與資金洗白中樞。此舉不僅震驚國際金融界，也讓柬埔寨在全球反詐騙行動中成為焦點。

同時，韓國方面也傳出連鎖反應。韓國國會議員姜民國（音譯）在10月20日披露，太子集團過去曾通過柬埔寨境內的五家韓國銀行分行進行至少52筆交易，涉資金額超過1970億韓元。目前仍有超過910億韓元的資產存放在這些韓國銀行的柬埔寨分行中，其中包括：韓國國民銀行分行567億韓元、全北銀行分行269億韓元、友利銀行分行70億韓元、新韓銀行分行6.4億韓元。

消息人士指出，韓國政府在收到美英兩國制裁通報後，韓國金融監督院立即展開調查，並由多家銀行先行凍結太子集團相關資金，以防止資金外流或被轉移。據悉，韓國官方正準備與美英合作，進一步追查該集團在亞洲地區的資金網絡與實際業務活動。

這場金融風暴對柬埔寨經濟的影響難以估量。太子銀行因民眾恐慌性提款而出現流動性危機，市場信心重挫。許多中小企業的營運資金被凍結，部分房地產開發案被迫停工。柬埔寨政府目前尚未正式回應外界對太子集團與高層官員關係的質疑，但內部消息稱，首相府已召開緊急會議，討論如何穩定金融體系與重建公眾信任。

太子集團的崩塌，不僅揭開柬埔寨電詐與洗錢產業的冰山一角，也讓外界看見在國際監管壓力下，東南亞部分新興經濟體中仍存在的「黑金資本」問題。這起事件預料將持續發酵，成為2025年亞洲最受矚目的金融與政治風暴之一。

In mid-October 2025, Cambodia was rocked by a major financial crisis following international sanctions against one of its most powerful conglomerates — the Prince Group. The company, led by its elusive founder Chen Zhi, was jointly sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom for its alleged involvement in large-scale telecommunications fraud, money laundering, and illegal cryptocurrency operations.

After the sanctions were announced, panic quickly spread across Cambodia. On the morning of October 18, crowds of anxious customers lined up outside Prince Bank, a subsidiary of the Prince Group, to withdraw their deposits. The sudden surge in withdrawals triggered a severe liquidity crisis, forcing several branches to temporarily suspend operations. Meanwhile, the bank’s website and mobile app crashed, making transactions nearly impossible and intensifying public fears of a financial collapse.

Prince Bank is one of Cambodia’s largest and most influential commercial banks, long tied to the country’s elite political and business circles. Its parent company, Prince Group, had been widely promoted as a symbol of Cambodia’s economic modernization, investing heavily in real estate, construction, education, and finance. However, the latest revelations have shattered public trust, with many now accusing the group of having secretly operated a vast “black money network” under the cover of legitimate business expansion.

According to a previous report by the U.S. Department of Justice, American authorities have seized nearly 130,000 bitcoins—worth about 15 billion USD—linked to Cambodian online fraud networks. Investigators identified the Prince Group as a key financial backer and laundering hub behind these criminal operations. The announcement sent shockwaves through global financial markets and exposed Cambodia’s deep entanglement in transnational fraud activities.

The fallout also reached South Korea, where lawmaker Kang Min-guk revealed on October 20 that the Prince Group had conducted at least 52 financial transactions through five Korean banks’ Cambodian branches, totaling more than 197 billion won (approximately 9.85 million RMB). As of this week, more than 91 billion won in assets remain frozen across these banks — including 56.7 billion won at KB Kookmin Bank, 26.9 billion won at Jeonbuk Bank, 7 billion won at Woori Bank, and 640 million won at Shinhan Bank.

South Korean financial authorities have since confirmed that several banks — led by KB Kookmin Bank — proactively froze Prince Group’s assets even before Seoul officially joined the international sanctions. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is now coordinating with U.S. and U.K. regulators to trace the group’s financial networks and uncover possible links to illicit transactions across Asia.

The collapse of the Prince Group has dealt a severe blow to Cambodia’s financial stability. Prince Bank’s liquidity crisis has disrupted business operations across the country, with small and medium-sized enterprises unable to access funds, and several real estate projects grinding to a halt. The Cambodian government has yet to issue a formal statement, but insiders report that the Prime Minister’s Office has convened emergency meetings to prevent further market panic and stabilize the banking system.

The Prince Group scandal has not only revealed the deep infiltration of fraud and money laundering networks in Southeast Asia but also exposed the fragility of Cambodia’s financial oversight. As the investigation widens, analysts predict this will become one of Asia’s most consequential financial and political crises of 2025, potentially reshaping international scrutiny of the region’s shadow economy and its ties to global capital flows.