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The Hindu
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
U.S. puts sanctions on Myanmar warlord and militia linked to cyber scams
The United States imposed sanctions on Monday (May 5, 2025) on a Myanmar warlord, his two sons and the militia he leads for facilitating cyber scams, human trafficking and cross-border smuggling, the Treasury Department said. The Treasury said the warlord, Saw Chit Thu, is a central figure in a network of illicit and highly lucrative cyberscam operations targeting Americans. Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs across Southeast Asia in recent years and forced to work in the scam operations, according to the United Nations. The move puts financial sanctions on Saw Chit Thu, the Karen National Army that he heads, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit, the department said in a statement, freezing any U.S. assets they may hold and generally barring Americans from doing business with them. Britain and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Saw Chit Thu. Saw Chit Thu and his militia could not immediately be reached for comment. The Karen National Army is headquartered in Shwe Kokko, a so-called "Special Economic Zone" along the Thai-Myanmar border, where the militia leases land and provides security for compounds where trafficked individuals are forced into scamming strangers online, the statement said. "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. Saw Chit Thu's ties to Myanmar's military rulers, evidenced by an honorary title for "outstanding performance" conferred on him by junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing in November 2022, have helped him build his position. Washington has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Myanmar's junta and its sources of income since the military toppled the elected government of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, igniting a spiraling civil war. Monday's (May 5, 2025) sanctions were the first Myanmar-related sanctions imposed since President Donald Trump took office in January. The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network last week proposed banning Cambodian financial firm Huione Group from the U.S. financial system over its alleged role in laundering illicit funds from cyber heists and online scams.
Malay Mail
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Myanmar warlord hit with US sanctions for cybercrime, human trafficking and smuggling
WASHINGTON, May 6 — The United States imposed sanctions yesterday on a Myanmar warlord, his two sons and the militia he leads, for facilitating cyber scams, human trafficking and cross-border smuggling, the Treasury Department said. The Treasury said the warlord, Saw Chit Thu, is a central figure in a network of illicit and highly lucrative cyberscam operations targeting Americans. Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs across Southeast Asia in recent years and forced to work in the scam operations, according to the United Nations. The move puts financial sanctions on Saw Chit Thu, the Karen National Army that he heads, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit, the department said in a statement, freezing any US assets they may hold and generally barring Americans from doing business with them. Britain and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Saw Chit Thu. Saw Chit Thu and his militia could not immediately be reached for comment. The Karen National Army is headquartered in Shwe Kokko, a so-called 'Special Economic Zone' along the Thai–Myanmar border, where the militia leases land and provides security for compounds where trafficked individuals are forced into scamming strangers online, the statement said. '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. Saw Chit Thu's ties to Myanmar's military rulers, evidenced by an honorary title for 'outstanding performance' conferred on him by junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing in November 2022, have helped him build his position. Washington has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Myanmar's junta and its sources of income since the military toppled the elected government of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, igniting a spiralling civil war. Yesterday's sanctions were the first Myanmar-related sanctions imposed since President Donald Trump took office in January. The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network last week proposed banning Cambodian financial firm Huione Group from the US financial system over its alleged role in laundering illicit funds from cyber heists and online scams. — Reuters
South China Morning Post
06-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Myanmar-based warlord overseeing scam hub faces US sanctions
The United States has sanctioned a Myanmar -based warlord in command of a border zone riddled with scam centres and where tens of thousands of people, including Chinese citizens, have targeted the world with sophisticated online fraud. Advertisement The US Treasury Department on Monday branded the Karen National Army (KNA), which controls the Myawaddy region across from Thailand , a 'transnational criminal organisation' and slapped sanctions on the KNA 'for facilitating cyber scams that harm US citizens, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling'. The group's leader Saw Chit Thu – and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit – were also sanctioned. Many of the people working in the infamous scam hub in Myawaddy have been tricked and trafficked into entering the lawless area, although others have knowingly chosen to try to make their fortune through scamming, crossing the Moei River from Thailand into the scam area. '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 the US Treasury's Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender. Advertisement '[The] Treasury is committed to using all available tools to disrupt these networks and hold accountable those who seek to profit from these criminal schemes.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
U.S. Puts Sanctions on Myanmar Warlord And Militia Linked to Cyber Scams
Reuters file photo Signage is seen at the U.S. Department of the Treasury headquarters in Washington. WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The United States imposed sanctions on Monday on a Myanmar warlord, his two sons and the militia he leads, for facilitating cyber scams, human trafficking and cross-border smuggling, the U.S. Treasury Department said. The Treasury said the warlord, Saw Chit Thu, is a central figure in a network of illicit and highly lucrative cyberscam operations targeting Americans. Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs across Southeast Asia in recent years and forced to work in the scam operations, according to the United Nations. The move puts financial sanctions on Saw Chit Thu, the Karen National Army that he heads, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit, the department said in a statement, freezing any U.S. assets they may hold and generally barring Americans from doing business with them. Britain and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Saw Chit Thu. Saw Chit Thu and his militia could not immediately be reached for comment. The Karen National Army is headquartered in Shwe Kokko, a so-called 'Special Economic Zone' along the Thai-Myanmar border, where the militia leases land and provides security for compounds where trafficked individuals are forced into scamming strangers online, the statement said. '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. Saw Chit Thu's ties to Myanmar's military rulers, evidenced by an honorary title for 'outstanding performance' conferred on him by junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing in November 2022, have helped him build his position. Washington has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Myanmar's junta and its sources of income since the military toppled the elected government of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, igniting a spiraling civil war. Monday's sanctions were the first Myanmar-related sanctions imposed since President Donald Trump took office in January. The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network last week proposed banning Cambodian financial firm Huione Group from the U.S. financial system over its alleged role in laundering illicit funds from cyber heists and online scams.
Japan Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
U.S. puts sanctions on Myanmar warlord and militia linked to online scams
The United States imposed sanctions on Monday on a Myanmar warlord, his two sons and the militia he leads, for facilitating online scams, human trafficking and cross-border smuggling, the Treasury Department said. The Treasury said the warlord, Saw Chit Thu, is a central figure in a network of illicit and highly lucrative internet scam operations targeting Americans. Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs across Southeast Asia in recent years and forced to work in the scam operations, according to the United Nations. The move puts financial sanctions on Saw Chit Thu, the Karen National Army that he heads, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit, the department said in a statement, freezing any U.S. assets they may hold and generally barring Americans from doing business with them. Britain and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Saw Chit Thu. Saw Chit Thu and his militia could not immediately be reached for comment. The Karen National Army is headquartered in Shwe Kokko, a so-called "Special Economic Zone" along the Thai-Myanmar border, where the militia leases land and provides security for compounds where trafficked individuals are forced into scamming strangers online, the statement said. "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 Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender. Saw Chit Thu's ties to Myanmar's military rulers, evidenced by an honorary title for "outstanding performance" conferred on him by junta chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in November 2022, have helped him build his position. Washington has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Myanmar's junta and its sources of income since the military toppled the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, igniting a spiraling civil war. Monday's sanctions were the first Myanmar-related sanctions imposed since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January. The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network last week proposed banning Cambodian financial firm Huione Group from the U.S. financial system over its alleged role in laundering illicit funds from internet heists and online scams.
