The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)l (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on a network of fraudulent operations across Southeast Asia, which have stolen billions of dollars from Americans through forced labor and violence. The sanctions target nine operations in Shwe Kokko, Burma, and ten operations in Cambodia.
A report by the U.S. government estimates that Americans have lost at least $10 billion to Southeast Asian scam operations in 2024, a 66% increase from the previous year.
Southeast Asian criminal organizations often recruit individuals to work in scam centers under false pretenses. They use debt bondage, violence, and the threat of forced prostitution to coerce individuals into scamming strangers online through messaging apps or by sending direct text messages to a potential victim’s phone.
The Treasury’s designations today target a significant hub for fraud in Burma, which is protected by the Karen National Army (KNA). The KNA is based in Shwe Kokko, Myawaddy Township, in the southeastern Karen State of Burma, along the border with Thailand. Through its collaboration with the Burmese military, the KNA has gained control over territory in eastern Myanmar’s Karen State. Within this territory, KNA leaders profit from transnational criminal activities, including cyber scam operations .
Among the individuals and entities that have been designated are:
Saw Min Min Oo is a KNA official and former Colonel in the KNA. He is responsible for managing various KNA-affiliated companies.
Myanmar Yatai International Holding Group Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between CLM Co., the parent company of the KNA, and Yatai International Holdings Group Limited, a subsidiary of She Zhijiang.
T C Capital Co. Ltd. is a company based in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, which owns a property complex, including the Golden Sun Sky Casino and Hotel. . The casino within the complex is used to launder the proceeds of criminal activities that take place in nearby buildings.
