The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on a Myanmar rebel group for cyber fraud and labor exploitation

The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on a Myanmar rebel group for cyber fraud and labor exploitation

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned a Myanmar rebel group and several associates for operating cyber scam compounds that target Americans and exploit trafficked workers.

The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), four of its senior leaders, Thai national Chamu Sawang, and two Thai companies—Trans Asia International Holding Group Thailand Co. Ltd. and Troth Star Co. Ltd.—were blacklisted by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The action, coordinated with U.S. law enforcement, coincides with the launch of a new Scam Center Strike Force aimed at major scam hubs in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.

Treasury said the sanctioned actors are tied to compounds in Myanmar’s Karen State, including Tai Chang, Huanya, and KK Park, where victims are beaten, tortured, and forced to defraud Americans online. U.S. officials estimate Americans lost at least $10 billion to Southeast Asia–based scams in 2024—a 66 percent increase from 2023—and called the designations part of a broader effort to cut these groups off from the U.S. financial system and penalize anyone who does business with them.