WASHINGTON (Chatnewstv.com) — The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to scam operations in Burma and Cambodia, accusing them of defrauding Americans and exploiting workers through forced labor.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it designated nine targets connected to scam hubs in Shwe Kokko, Burma, which operate under the protection of the Karen National Army, a sanctioned transnational criminal group. It also sanctioned four individuals and six entities for running compounds in Cambodia where workers are coerced into carrying out cryptocurrency investment scams.
“Americans lost at least $10 billion to scam operations in Southeast Asia in 2024,” the department said in a statement. “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 action was taken under a series of executive orders targeting transnational crime, corruption, and malicious cyber activity.
U.S. officials said the measures are intended not only to protect American consumers but also to disrupt networks that exploit workers and destabilize regional security.
