Treasury Sanctions Burma Warlord and Militia Tied to Cyber Scam Operations

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Karen National Army (KNA), a militia group in Burma, as a transnational criminal organization, along with the group’s leader Saw Chit Thu, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit, for their role in facilitating cyber scams that harm U.S. citizens, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling. The KNA-controlled region, located on the Thai-Burmese border, is home to multiple cyber scam syndicates, and the KNA has benefitted from its connection to Burma’s military in its criminal operations. Although statistics vary, American victims of cyber scams like the ones emanating from Burma have collectively lost billions of dollars over the last three years.“Cyber scam operations, such as those run by the KNA, generate billions in revenue for criminal kingpins and their associates, while depriving victims of their hard-earned savings and sense of security,” said Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender.