U.S. Cracks Down on Scam Networks in Southeast Asia Draining Billions

According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on a sprawling network of scam centres operating in Southeast Asia to curb transnational cybercrime and human rights abuses. The action targets nine entities in Shwe Kokko, Burma, under the protection of the OFAC-designated Karen National Army (KNA), and ten entities based in Cambodia, marking one of the most extensive actions against cyber-enabled financial crime to date.

The centres exploit forced labour and violence and defrauded Americans of more than $10 billion in 2024, with Shwe Kokko’s scam operations flourishing under the KNA’s collaboration with the Burmese military. Yatai New City, a compound developed by She Zhijiang and KNA leader Saw Chit Thu, serves as the epicentre for gambling, drug trafficking, prostitution, and elaborate “pig butching” investment scams targeting overseas victims.

The Treasury notes a sequence of designations, including actions on 5 May 2025 and 29 May 2025, and highlights ongoing efforts to sever the financial lifelines of these networks. Treasury officials emphasised the goal of disrupting the financial ecosystems that enable cybercrime and human exploitation, warning that secondary sanctions will apply to entities owned 50 percent or more by sanctioned parties.