SINGAPORE, Oct. 16 -- Three Singaporeans and 17 Singapore-registered entities have been sanctioned by the United States for their alleged links to one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organisations, led by Cambodian national Chen Zhi and his Prince Holding Group.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Tuesday that the individuals and entities to its Specially Designated Nationals list, effectively blocking them from the US financial system.

US authorities allege that Chen Zhi and his top executives grew Prince Holding Group into a massive criminal enterprise that operated forced-labour scam compounds across Cambodia, Singapore's Business Times reported.

These compounds ran "pig-butchering" investment schemes that def...