U.S. Treasury Sanctions 19 Myanmar, Cambodia Entities for Forcing Trafficking Victims into Crypto Scams

The ￰1￱ Department sanctioned 19 entities across Myanmar and Cambodia for operating massive crypto scam networks that defrauded Americans of over $10 billion in 2024 ￰2￱ coordinated action targets transnational criminal organizations using forced labor and human trafficking to perpetrate “ pig butchering ” ￰3￱ Office of Foreign Assets Control designated nine targets in Shwe Kokko, Myanmar, operating under the protection of the previously sanctioned Karen National Army , plus ten entities based in ￰4￱ scam centers recruit individuals under false pretenses before using debt bondage, violence, and forced prostitution threats to coerce victims into targeting American citizens.

Today, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control implemented sanctions against networks of scam centers across Southeast Asia that steal billions of dollars from Americans using forced labor and ￰5￱ action includes nine targets operating in Burma, a notorious hub for… — Treasury Department (@USTreasury) September 8, 2025 Network of Forced Labor and Violence According to the Treasury, these criminal organizations specifically recruit English-speaking individuals to target Americans through messaging apps and text ￰6￱ scammers reported daily quotas for victim targeting while being held captive until families paid ransoms for their ￰7￱ schemes involve building fake romantic relationships or friendships to gain the victim’s trust before convincing the targets to invest in fraudulent crypto ￰8￱ operate websites designed to mimic legitimate investment platforms while actually controlling victim funds directly.

Treasury’s action builds on previous designations, including May sanctions against the Karen National Army and its leaders for facilitating cyber scams and human ￰9￱ Guarantee, the largest Telegram-based illicit crypto marketplace, ceased operations after Telegram blocked thousands of scam-linked accounts. #Telegram #CryptoCrime ￰0￱ — ￰10￱ (@cryptonews) May 15, 2025 FinCEN also identified Huione Group as a primary money laundering concern for processing proceeds from North Korean cyber heists and Southeast Asian digital asset ￰11￱ crackdown escalates under the Trump administration’s broader campaign against organized financial ￰12￱ Secretary John ￰13￱ emphasized that “ Southeast Asia’s cyber scam industry not only threatens the well-being and financial security of Americans, but also subjects thousands of people to modern slavery. ” Myanmar’s Yatai New City Criminal Enterprise The sanctions target Yatai New City, a prominent scam compound in Shwe Kokko created by She Zhijiang and Saw Chit ￰14￱ compound transformed a small village into a resort city custom-built for gambling, drug trafficking, prostitution, and international scams over eight ￰15￱ Zhijiang () She Zhijiang operates under multiple pseudonyms after adopting Burmese and Cambodian ￰16￱ issued an Interpol Red Notice, leading to his 2022 arrest in Thailand , with ongoing extradition proceedings since the ￰17￱ Yatai International Holding Group serves as the joint venture between CLM Co., the KNA’s holding company, and She Zhijiang’s Yatai International Holdings ￰18￱ partnership owns and operates Yatai New City with 70% ownership by Yatai IHG and 30% by CLM ￰19￱ Win controls Shwe Myint Thaung Yinn Industry & Manufacturing Company, which contracts with energy suppliers to maintain power for scam ￰20￱ shut off electricity to Yatai New City in 2023 and 2025, attempting to close the ￰21￱ Min Min Oo, a former KNA Colonel, manages various affiliated companies while serving on boards of multiple entities, including Chit Linn Mying Co., Toyota operations, and mining ￰22￱ complex organizational structure obscures true ownership while facilitating criminal ￰23￱ victims reported being beaten for failing quotas and forced into commercial sex ￰24￱ compound detains workers until ransom payments while maintaining the facade of legitimate business operations through corporate structures.

Cambodia’s Casino-to-Scam Conversion Networks Treasury targeted Cambodian entities that converted Chinese-built casinos into virtual currency scam centers when fraud proved more profitable than ￰25￱ instance, T C Capital owns the Golden Sun Sky Casino complex in Sihanoukville, using casino functions to launder criminal ￰26￱ Lecheng founded T C Capital after a money laundering conviction in China and investigations for bribery and illegal online ￰27￱ investor developed multiple Sihanoukville properties linked to modern slavery and crypto fraud operations. K B Hotel ￰28￱ another Sihanoukville complex where enslaved workers conduct virtual currency scams.

Co-founder Xu Aimin received a 10-year Chinese prison sentence for operating billion-dollar illegal gambling rings before moving to Cambodia and obtaining ￰29￱ Al Len serves on K B Hotel’s board while directing Heng He Bavet Property, which owns casinos and buildings in ￰30￱ company received workers previously linked to cyber scams from Sihanoukville ￰31￱ interconnected ownership structures span multiple provinces while maintaining plausible deniability through legitimate business ￰32￱ Treasury action freezes all U. S.-based property and prohibits American persons from conducting transactions with designated entities.