The US Department of the Treasury this week announced sanctions against a Myanmar (Burma) warlord and his militia for their roles in cyber scams targeting US citizens.
The individual, Saw Chit Thu, head of the militia group called the Karen National Army (KNA), was sanctioned alongside his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit.
According to the US Treasury, the KNA-controlled region on the Thai-Burmese border houses multiple cyber scam groups that have caused billions of dollars in losses to victims in the US over the past three years.
Headquartered in Shwe Kokko, Myawaddy Township, the KNA has leveraged its connections with local military to create a transborder criminal empire, with most cyber scam syndicates in Myanmar’s southeast Karen State operating from this region.
The KNA leases land it controls to organized crime groups, supports human trafficking and smuggling operations, provides energy to scam operations, and ensures the security of scam compounds in the region.
“Survivors from KK Park—an infamous scam site—who were coerced into forced criminality to commit cyber scams have reported that the uniforms of soldiers guarding the compound bore the insignia of the KNA,” the US says.
Saw Chit Thu, the Treasury says, is an important figure in Myanmar’s scam economy, facilitating transnational crimes and making KNA a key enabler of scam operations.
Sanctioned by the UK in 2023 and by the EU in 2024, Saw Chit Thu has appointed his two sons as officers in the KNA. Saw Htoo Eh Moo has an interest in business ventures affiliated with the KNA, while Saw Chit Chit, who is involved in military operations, holds shares and directorships in businesses associated with the KNA.
As such, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Saw Chit Thu, Saw Htoo Eh Moo, Saw Chit Chit, and the Karen National Army, blocking all their property and interests in property in the US.
OFAC’s sanctions also prohibit US persons from making any transactions with the sanctioned entities, unless authorized by OFAC. Non-US persons engaging in certain transactions with the sanctioned entities may be sanctioned themselves, the Treasury says.
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