Bangladesh, Oct. 18 -- When the US and UK governments jointly imposed sweeping sanctions on one of Asias largest criminal networks this week, investigators uncovered an empire sprawling far beyond the borders of Cambodia – reaching deep into the luxury real estate markets of Dubai and London. At the center of the revelations stands Zhu Zhongbiao, a Chinese businessman accused of playing a pivotal role in a billion-dollar online scam and human trafficking syndicate run under the guise of the Prince Group Transnational Crime Organization.

Zhu, already wanted in China for money laundering, is accused of helping to operate “scam compounds” across Cambodia that defrauded victims around the world and enslaved foreign workers ...