On Monday, the US Treasury blacklisted about 20 individuals and businesses connected to internet fraud and trafficking activities in Cambodian and Myanmar's casino hubs.
Nine organizations in the Shwe Kokko enclave of Myanmar and ten in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, are accused by the Treasury of planning online virtual currency investment scams that defrauded US nationals of over US$10 billion in 2024—a 66% increase over the previous year.
The Treasury claims that these networks are also engaged in human trafficking. People are frequently given respectable occupations but forced into fraudulent employment through forced prostitution, debt bondage, or assault. Some victims are imprisoned in compounds until their families pay ransoms, or they are punished for failing to meet quotas.
“Many of these centers were built as casinos by Chinese criminal actors but became hubs for virtual currency investment scams when that activity proved to be more profitable,” the Treasury said.
People and organizations associated with Shwe Kokko's Yatai New City, including She Zhijiang, the city's creator, were among those sanctioned on Monday. Saw Chit Thu, the leader of the ethnic militia known as the Karen National Army (KNA), has supported and shielded his operation.
The Treasury claims that over the course of eight years, She's development expanded from a little riverside community to a vast complex full of casinos, fraud centers, trafficking operations, and other illicit enterprises.
She has been resisting extradition to China since being detained in Thailand in 2022 on an Interpol Red Notice.
The Golden Sun Sky Casino and Hotel in Sihanoukville, which is run by T C Capital Co. Ltd., was another target of the sanctions. The casino has been used to hide internet fraud and launder money, according to the Treasury. Along with a number of partners and related businesses, its founder, Dong Lecheng, was sanctioned. US officials connected Dong to trafficking activities and cited his previous conviction for money laundering in China.
The penalties imposed on Monday indicate that the US administration is stepping up its efforts to stop international financial wrongdoing. The KNA's leadership, Cambodian millionaire Ly Yong Phat, and others were sanctioned by the department earlier this year for engaging in scam operations and trafficking crimes.
Under Secretary for Financial Intelligence and Terrorism John K. Hurley denounced the schemes as "modern slavery" in addition to being financially devastating to US residents.
“Treasury will deploy the full weight of its tools to combat organized financial crime and protect Americans from the extensive damage these scams can cause,” he said in a statement.
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