The US has imposed sanctions on Myanmar warlords and the militia he led for his involvement in major cyber fraud, including cryptocurrency-related fraud that hurt American citizens.
The US Treasury Department’s Foreign Assets Control Office has announced sanctions against Saw Chit Thu, the warlord leader of the militia group Karen National Army.
Ofac’s sanctions are against Saw Chit Thu’s two sons who saw Htoo eh Moo and Chit and Kna, and the Ministry of Finance has designated not only cyber fraud syndicates, but also human trafficking and border smuggling.
The cross-border crimes of Myanmar militia groups include cryptocurrency-related fraud schemes, according to the Ministry of Finance. In a press release, OFAC said that US victims lost more than $2 billion in 2022 and more than $3.5 billion in 2023.
On May 1, 2025, the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network identified Cambodian financial institution Huione Group as the leading money laundering player in the Southeast Asia region.
US authorities say most of the cyber fraud that attacks Americans come from the area. The Huione Group, which serves as an important money laundering conduit for the Democratic Republic of Korea and criminal organizations, is located in the US crosshairs.
You might like it too: US Treasury Department moves to block the Fuione group over crypto laundering claims
Like KNA and others, one of the main scams is through convertible crypto investment fraud and romance schemes, or pig slaughter.
“The con artist offers victims rich and attractive lifestyle tips and induces them to “invest” in fake cryptocurrencies and trading platforms controlled by the con artist themselves.
Laundry and “pig slaughter” scams have won billions of dollars in criminal organization revenue.
According to OFAC, Saw Chit Thu is a key figure in Myanmar’s fraud economy and has connections with the country’s military regime, which will allow criminal operations from the KNA-controlled zone along the Myanmar-Thailand border.
The UK and the European Union approved Chitu in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
You might like it too: Huione, the company behind the biggest illegal online marketplace launches Stablecoin: Report
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