The United States has imposed sanctions on cyber scam operators in Myanmar and Cambodia, targeting networks that defrauded tens of billions of dollars from Americans last year, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
These criminal networks trafficked hundreds of thousands of people into scam compounds, particularly along the Thai-Myanmar border, where victims are forced into debt bondage and coerced to carry out online fraud. The scams include money laundering, illegal gambling, and fraudulent investment schemes, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“Southeast Asia's cyber scam industry not only threatens the well-being and financial security of Americans, but also subjects thousands of people to modern slavery,” said John K. Hurley, U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
Sanctions target nine entities and individuals in Shwe Kokko, Karen State, Myanmar, as well as 10 entities in Cambodia, many linked to Chinese criminal networks operating digital currency fraud centers. Some compounds reportedly resemble prisons, with victims subjected to coercion, violence, and threats of forced prostitution.
Shwe Kokko, established in 2017 by Yatai International Holdings Group and the Karen National Army, has expanded under both militia and Myanmar junta control, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and the United States Institute of Peace. Both Yatai and the KNA have been previously sanctioned.
The U.S. sanctions aim to cut off funding to these criminal networks and curb the rapid growth of Southeast Asia’s cyber scam industry, which has spread widely since Myanmar’s 2021 military coup.
