Particle.news
Download on the App Store
7 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

U.S. Sanctions Myanmar Warlord and Militia for Cyber Scams and Trafficking

The Treasury Department targets the Karen National Army and its leader Saw Chit Thu for facilitating billion-dollar fraud schemes, human trafficking, and smuggling operations.

FILE - Thai soldiers provide security for the transfer of Chinese nationals who had worked at scam centers in eastern Myanmar, on their arrival at Thailand's Mae Sot International Airport, Tak province before being sent back to China on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Sarot Meksophawannakul, File)
Image
Image

Overview

  • The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned the Karen National Army (KNA) and its leader, Saw Chit Thu, along with his two sons, for their roles in cyber scams, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling.
  • The KNA has been designated a 'transnational criminal organization' and is accused of leasing land and providing protection for scam hubs in Myawaddy and Shwe Kokko on the Thai-Burmese border.
  • Cyberscam operations tied to the KNA reportedly generated billions in illicit revenue, costing U.S. victims approximately $3.5 billion in 2023 alone.
  • The sanctions freeze any U.S.-based assets held by the KNA leadership and prohibit Americans from conducting financial transactions with the group.
  • The KNA denies the allegations, claiming to focus on regional development and repatriation of trafficked workers, while international crackdowns on scam hubs continue in Southeast Asia.