U.S. deepens efforts to crush Burmese militia linked to cyber scams
The group is accused of hosting one of the most notorious scam and human trafficking operations in Southeast Asia.
In an apparent push to crack down on one of the world’s most notorious scam and human trafficking networks, the U.S. government slapped new sanctions Wednesday on a separatist militia in Myanmar for its alleged involvement in the racket.
The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army controls an area running along the border between Myanmar and Thailand, a region which hosts several scam centers, including the infamous KK Park, which Myanmar’s national army bombed last month, according to Australian news outlet ABC.
The U.S. government estimates scam centers like these in Southeast Asia stole roughly $10 billion from Americans in 2024. Often, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, these scams take the form of fake offers of romantic relationships and investment opportunities.
The scam centers themselves are staffed by victims of human trafficking, who suffer widespread abuse at the hands of the militia members controlling the compounds.
In addition to sanctioning the DKBA militia and its four leaders, the U.S. government is also targeting two companies, Troth Star and Trans Asia International Holding Group, which are accused of working with Chinese criminal organizations to set up the scam centers on the Myanmar-Thailand border.
As a result of the new sanctions, the assets of these leaders and groups that are in the United States or are handled by financial institutions with a presence in the U.S. will be frozen.
As is typical in American sanctions programs, people who transact with these sanctioned entities will also face economic consequences.
The move Wednesday is just the latest by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to interrupt the scam network carried out by Buddhist extremist groups in the Karen state of Myanmar.
In May, the U.S. designated the Karen National Army – whose affiliation with the DKBA is not immediately clear – as a transnational criminal organization. Then, in September, OFAC placed new sanctions on alleged scammers operating out of Cambodia and Myanmar.
The militia groups accused of leading this criminal enterprise have risen to power during the course of the Burmese Civil War, which began following a military coup in 2021.
The Trump administration is relying on the same Biden-era executive order aimed at targeting the Burmese junta government to now cut off economic resources to the scammer militia group.