US ‘Strike Force’ targets cyber scams in Myanmar; Sanctions against Democratic Karen Benevolent Army

US ‘Strike Force’ targets cyber scams in Myanmar

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the establishment of a Scam Center Strike Force on Wednesday to crack down on cryptocurrency-related scams based in Burma, Cambodia, and Laos that target Americans. It has seized and forfeited $401 million USD in crypto currency, according to the Nov. 12 statement. The Strike Force Burma team has conducted operations against two scam centers so far.

“Scam centers are creating a generational wealth transfer from Main Street America into the pockets of Chinese organized crime,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in the statement. Kyo Dolan, assistant director of the Secret Service, stated the agency has observed a surge in cryptocurrency investment scams since 2019, with nearly 3,000 victims reaching out to it so far this year.

The statement added that the Strike Force has deployed FBI agents to Bangkok to work with the Thai police to combat scam compounds, such as the Chinese-backed KK Park in Karen State’s Myawaddy Township, located along the Burma-Thailand border 81 miles (130 km) east of the state capital Hpa-An. The regime Ministry of Information stated on Nov. 9 that it had demolished a total of 101 buildings inside KK Park.