An investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a nonprofit investigative network that specializes in reporting on organized crime and corruption, and Guardian Australia has found that three people later sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury were involved in the company behind a planned resort linked to the AB crypto project near Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, a Southeast Asian nation occupying the eastern half of the island of Timor. The reporting found no evidence that AB was directly connected to The Prince Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate accused by the U.S. government of involvement in an online scam syndicate, or that illicit funds flowed into the project. The Prince Group has rejected allegations of unlawful activity.

AB had promoted a 300,000-square-meter “blockchain theme resort” stretching toward the sea near Timor-Leste’s capital. Under the arrangement, the nonprofit behind AB was to receive between five and 10 percent of future profits. The promotional material was later removed.

AB Said the Resort Agreement Was Canceled in November

According to AB, the resort plan originated in a June memorandum of understanding between its core entities and a Timor-Leste-registered company. In a statement posted March 4, the project said the plan was canceled in November, before the arrangement reached “a substantive implementation stage,” and it described the agreement as a preliminary intention that carried no substantive legal or financial consequences.

Corporate records and interviews reviewed by the outlets showed that three people later sanctioned in a U.S. crackdown involving The Prince Group had been connected to the resort company. U.S. Treasury sanctions generally freeze assets under U.S. jurisdiction and bar U.S. individuals and companies from dealings with designated parties, the kind of exposure that explains why the corporate ties drew scrutiny. According to the report, all three individuals were removed from the company shortly after the sanctions were announced, and none has been charged in connection with the resort.

Diverging Accounts of the Project’s Status

Lin Xiaofan, whom reporters identified as a person involved in AB’s network, gave a different account of the project’s status. He told the outlets that the resort remained active, although AB was no longer involved, and provided a November 27 letter terminating the agreement, the investigation reported.

The distinction is a significant one: AB characterized its agreement as canceled before substantive implementation, while Lin said the project itself continued. Memorandums of understanding are typically preliminary, nonbinding frameworks, which is part of why the two accounts point to different conclusions about the project’s status. The investigation did not establish that the resort was ever built. When reporters visited the proposed site in February, they found no signs of construction.

World Liberty Financial said it had not been told about the resort or the people involved. Its lawyers said the company conducted due diligence on AB and rejected claims linking World Liberty to sanctioned individuals or the Timor-Leste project. The report did not suggest that World Liberty Financial, former Serbian leader Boris Tadić, or other political figures named in the reporting knew of the earlier involvement.

Kimi Yang denied any association with The Prince Group and said he had met its chief executive, Chen Zhi, only for “casual dinner and cigar time.” Shih denied knowing about the Timor-Leste resort or having a connection to the group. The investigation also noted The Prince Group’s denial of unlawful conduct.

What the Records Establish

The reporting links sanctioned individuals to the resort company, but it does not establish that AB was directly connected to The Prince Group or that illicit money financed the development. It also separates the company’s cancellation statement from Lin’s claim that the project remained active. The case illustrates a recurring dynamic with crypto-branded development ventures: promotional tie-ups can surface in corporate paperwork while the underlying project’s fate remains unclear from public records alone.

The investigation placed the resort plan amid broader scrutiny of scam syndicates in Southeast Asia, which it said operate from compounds in converted hotels, office parks and casinos. It reported that the United States had seized $15 billion worth of bitcoin from Chen Zhi in what the government described as its largest forfeiture action against online scammers. That enforcement action does not establish a connection between AB and The Prince Group.

For the Timor-Leste development, the reported status remains unsettled: AB said its agreement ended in November, while Lin said the project continued. The February site visit found no construction, and the investigation reported no later building schedule. Developments that would clarify the picture include any construction appearing at the site, further changes to the resort company’s records, or additional statements from the parties involved.