Imposing Sanctions On Online Scam Centers In Southeast Asia

Criminal actors across Southeast Asia have increasingly exploited the vulnerabilities of Americans online.  In 2024, Americans lost at least $10 billion to scam operations in Southeast Asia, according to a U.S. government estimate.

In response, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today imposed sanctions on nine targets involved in operations in Shwe Kokko, a scam center hub in Burma operating under the protection of the already sanctioned criminal organization Karen National Army (KNA).  The KNA is a transnational criminal organization that facilitates online scam operations that target Americans and exploit workers in forced labor.

Additionally, OFAC sanctioned four individuals and six entities for their roles operating forced labor compounds in Cambodia, where workers are forced to carry out virtual currency investment scams against victims in the United States, Europe, China, and elsewhere.

These sanctions protect Americans from the pervasive threat of online scam operations by disrupting the ability of criminal networks to perpetuate industrial-scale fraud, forced labor, physical and sexual abuse, and theft of Americans’ hard-earned savings.

The Department of the Treasury’s sanctions designations were taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13581, as amended by E.O. 13863, E.O. 14014, E.O. 13818, and E.O. 13694, as amended. For more information, see Treasury’s Press Release.