US Blacklists Myanmar Warlord and Ethnic Army Linked to Scam Centers

Washington: The U.S. Treasury Department has taken decisive action against a Myanmar militia group and its leader, Saw Chit Thu, by blacklisting them for their involvement in facilitating cyber scams from the territory they control on the Thai-Myanmar border. This move also affects Saw Chit Thu's two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit. According to Radio Free Asia, the Karen National Army (KNA), formerly known as the Karen Border Guard, has been designated as a significant transnational criminal organization. This designation means they are barred from holding property in the United States and conducting transactions with U.S. persons. The action against the KNA and its leader highlights their role in a trans-border criminal empire facilitated by their former alliance with the Myanmar military. Since 2017, the area of Shwe Kokko, located along the Moei River on the Myanmar-Thai border, has seen significant development due to a joint venture called Yatai International Holding Group Company Limited. This venture involves She Zhijiang, a naturalized Cambodian originally from China, who was arrested in Thailand in 2022. The U.S. Treasury Department indicated that the KNA has continued its cooperation with the Burmese military as recently as September 2024, despite changing its name in March 2024. The KNA's involvement in cyber scam schemes is extensive, as they profit by leasing land to other organized crime groups, providing security, and supporting human trafficking, smuggling, and supplying utilities for scam operations. The statement from the Treasury Department detailed how scammers are often trafficked into call centers or retrofitted hotels and casinos, where they are forced under threat of violence to conduct online scams. Saw Chit Thu is described by the Treasury Department as a key enabler of these scam operations, with his sons serving as officers in the KNA and holding key roles in the criminal enterprise. Attempts to reach Saw Chit Thu and the KNA for comment were unsuccessful.