In 2024, OFAC goes after forced labour groups in Myanmar and Cambodia that are stealing $10 billion from Americans through crypto scams.
The OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control ) of the U.S. The Treasury Department made a decisive move and sanctioned 19 organizations associated with the prolific cryptocurrency frauds in Myanmar and Cambodia.
These frauds coercively exploited employees and defrauded Americans, costing Americans more than 10 billion dollars last year, a 66 percent increase since 2023, according to Treasury estimates.
Scam Empires Hidden in Plain Sight
Shwe Kokko town in Myanmar is one infamous fraud centre that is patrolled by the Karen National Army (KNA).
Here, the OFAC sanctioned nine targets, including militia leaders and their connected companies.
The Yatai New City, owned by Chinese businesspeople and the KNA leaders, is an area of gambling, drug dealing, prostitution, and crypto fraud.
Scammers used fake employment opportunities to lure victims, ensnare them, and force them into fraudulent activities with threats of violence.
Cambodia Scams are Feeding off Forced Labor
The U.S. sanctioned four individuals and six organizations in Cambodia for operating similar scam schemes.
Casino-driven enterprises in cities such as Sihanoukville originally operated as gambling hubs but later converted into forced labor compounds used to commit crypto scams.
A number of victims of human trafficking were compelled to launder money and commit fraudulent crypto plans. Casinos and their large actors engaged in forced labor and scam activities.
The Treasury also attributed modern slavery and industrial-scale fraud to be inseparable, mostly as the Treasury cited cyber scams in Southeast Asia as a financial threat and gross human rights abuse.
The sanctions focus on the assets of these criminal networks in the jurisdiction of the U.S. and bar business transactions with Americans.
A spokesperson of the Treasury stressed that the campaign aims to eliminate organized criminal syndicates exploiting vulnerable people across the globe. The spokesperson added that the campaign also seeks to protect Americans from being misled.
This is the most recent of several previous designations made against transnational criminal groups and cyber-enabled fraudsters in the area.
