OFAC sanctions entities tied to crypto scams in Myanmar and Cambodia

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Monday that it has sanctioned an extensive network of cyber criminals across Southeast Asia.

The action targets nine entities in Shwe Kokko, Myanmar, a hub for crypto investment scams and ten targets based in Cambodia. Last year, the U.S. experienced over $10 billion in losses due to scams originating from Southeast Asia, representing a 66% year-over-year increase, according to the press release.

“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,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.

OFAC noted that these criminal organizations recruit individuals using false pretenses, utilizing debt bondage, violence, and the threat of forced prostitution to coerce them into scamming victims.

A common scam type is the “pig-butchering” fraud, where scammers use the promise of a relationship to gain trust and then manipulate victims into making deposits on fake crypto investment platforms, ultimately stealing all their money.

“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC,” the release said, adding that any entities owned by the blocked individuals are also blocked.

Previously, in May, the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identified Cambodia’s Huione Group as a primary money laundering concern for laundering proceeds of North Korean crypto hacks and Southeast Asian scam operations. FinCEN proposed cutting off Huione Group’s access to the U.S. financial system.