On November 13, 2025, the United States government took decisive action against a sprawling network of cyber-scam operations rooted in Myanmar, imposing sweeping financial sanctions on a militia group, its senior leaders, and associated companies with ties to Chinese organized crime. The move, coordinated across several federal agencies, highlights the growing international alarm over the use of human trafficking victims to fuel sophisticated online fraud schemes that have siphoned billions from American citizens and helped bankroll Myanmar’s brutal civil conflict.
At the center of the crackdown is the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a militia entrenched in Myanmar’s Karen State. According to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the DKBA and four of its top commanders—Saw Steel (commander-in-chief), Saw Sein Win (assistant general), Saw San Aung (chief of staff), and Chamu Sawang (the Thai director of Trans Asia)—were blacklisted for their involvement in running scam compounds that specifically targeted Americans. Their assets under U.S. jurisdiction have been frozen, and American citizens are now strictly prohibited from conducting business with them.
But the sanctions didn’t stop there. OFAC also targeted Thai companies Trans Asia International Holding Group Thailand Co., Ltd. and Troth Star Co., Ltd., as well as Chamu Sawang, also known as Chamnarn Sawang, for collaborating with the DKBA and Chinese transnational criminal networks. These entities, the Treasury said, played a pivotal role in establishing and expanding scam centers across DKBA-controlled territories.
“Criminal networks operating out of Myanmar are stealing billions of dollars from hardworking Americans through fraud,” declared John C. Hurley, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, as quoted by Reuters and Khaosod English. “These same networks are also involved in human trafficking and help fuel Myanmar’s brutal civil war. The administration will continue to use every tool we have to track down these cybercriminals and protect American families from exploitation.”
The scope of the scam operations is staggering. According to the U.S. Treasury, hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs across Southeast Asia in recent years and forced to work in scam centers—many of them located inside war-torn Myanmar. These operations, using trafficked labor, have become a lucrative source of revenue for armed groups, financing not only criminal activity but also the DKBA’s armed campaigns in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war.
OFAC identified the Taishang Center, located near Myawaddy in Karen State, as a flagship scam compound. This center, allegedly established by DKBA Brigadier General Saw Kyaw La in partnership with Trans Asia, was singled out for its role in orchestrating large-scale fraud schemes. Trans Asia was described as a front for Chinese criminal investors, helping to funnel illicit profits and expand the DKBA’s reach.
Further investigations linked Trans Asia to land deals with other sanctioned groups and companies, including KNA and Troth Star, to develop additional scam hubs. Among these are the Huan Ya Center and the notorious KK Park, both situated in Myawaddy. These facilities, according to OFAC, have become major nodes in the regional scam industry, exploiting trafficked workers and targeting victims worldwide—most notably in the United States.
The U.S. government’s action was not limited to financial restrictions. In a coordinated effort involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), authorities also launched the Scam Center Strike Force. This multi-agency task force is dedicated to investigating and dismantling scam compounds across Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, and to prosecuting their operators.
The scale and complexity of these scam networks have drawn international concern. In recent years, as civil war has engulfed parts of Myanmar, criminal gangs have exploited the chaos to establish semi-autonomous enclaves where scam compounds operate with impunity. These compounds, often heavily fortified and guarded by militia, lure or traffic workers from across Asia—sometimes under false pretenses of legitimate employment—only to force them into running online scams targeting foreigners, especially Americans.
Profits from these scams, according to U.S. officials, are funneled back to armed groups like the DKBA, further fueling violence and instability in Myanmar. “These same networks traffic human beings and help fuel Burma’s brutal civil war,” John Hurley emphasized, using the country’s former name. “The Administration will keep using every tool we have to go after these cybercriminals—wherever they operate—and to protect American families from their exploitation.”
The newly sanctioned individuals and entities have been accused of a range of offenses, from human trafficking to orchestrating complex cyber fraud. OFAC’s public statements made clear that the DKBA’s leaders, including Saw Steel and Saw Kyaw La, were instrumental in both the creation and operation of these scam centers. Trans Asia, acting as a conduit for Chinese criminal investment, played a crucial role in the expansion and financing of these illicit enterprises.
The impact of these operations on ordinary people has been severe. Victims of trafficking, often from vulnerable communities across Southeast Asia, have reported being held against their will, subjected to violence or threats, and forced to perpetrate scams under constant surveillance. Meanwhile, American victims have lost billions to fraudulent investment schemes, romance scams, and other online cons originating from these centers.
The U.S. government’s approach, as outlined in the coordinated sanctions and the creation of the Scam Center Strike Force, is to disrupt the financial lifelines of these criminal enterprises while also working to rescue trafficking victims and bring perpetrators to justice. The hope is that by targeting the nexus of armed groups, criminal syndicates, and complicit businesses, the U.S. can not only protect its citizens but also help stem the tide of exploitation and violence in the region.
While the sanctions are a significant step, officials acknowledge that dismantling these deeply entrenched networks will require sustained international cooperation. The involvement of Chinese transnational criminal groups, the complicity of local militias, and the porous borders of Southeast Asia present formidable challenges. Nonetheless, the U.S. has signaled its commitment to using “every tool we have” to pursue justice for victims—both at home and abroad.
The story of the DKBA and its partners is a stark reminder of how modern conflict, organized crime, and technology can intertwine, with devastating consequences for individuals and communities alike. As the international community grapples with the fallout, the latest U.S. sanctions mark a new chapter in the ongoing battle against cyber-enabled human trafficking and fraud.
