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Read Full BioThe US Treasury Department has hit the Myanmar-based Karen National Army (KNA) with sanctions following years of allegations that the militia runs a network of illegal casino, gambling, and scam center operations.
The Associated Press reported that Washington has sanctioned the KNA, as well as its leader Colonel Saw Chit Thu.
Myanmar Militia: Casino and Scam Center Allegations
The Treasury also sanctioned the leader’s sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit. Washington says the groups have helped run criminal networks that have caused chaos across Southeast Asia.
The sanctions will see banks freeze US-based assets linked to the Saw family and the KNA. They also prevent American citizens from engaging in business operations with the militia.
The Treasury claims the KNA has run cyber scams that have caused harm to US citizens. The militia is also involved in human trafficking and cross-border smuggling, the Treasury added.
US think tanks have been publishing allegations about KNA’s operations in Myanmar, particularly in the city of Shwe Kokko, for several years.
The city, in Myawaddy District, was built between 2017 and 2020. It features Yatai New City, named for the construction firm Yatai.
AP wrote: “Criminal syndicates in the area have reportedly forced hundreds of thousands of people, including foreigners, into labor at online scam centers that operate romance frauds, fake investment pitches, and illegal gambling operations.”
The KNA says that it leases land to international companies that operate a range of facilities in Shwe Kokko.
In a BBC report published in February this year, Yatai told a journalist that “rich people from many countries” rent villas in the city, from which they run hotels and casinos.
However, Washington says that the city is also home to scam operations that generate billions in illicit revenue for crime syndicates. The Treasury says that workers are often lured to Karen State under false pretenses.
Karen National Army: US Is Trying to Bully Myanmar
AP quoted a KNA spokesperson as stating that Washington was trying to bully a weaker nation with its sanctions package.
The spokesperson conceded that some scam centers operated in areas controlled by the KNA. But the KNA said it was working with the Myanmar armed forces to shut down these centers.
It said it had repatriated over 7,000 Thai workers during a February crackdown. And it said it was working on scores of similar cases. But the KNA admitted that some 10,000 people remain unaccounted for in the areas it controls.
Yatai told the BBC in February that scam operators have been forced out of Shwe Kokko. The firm has reportedly told residents that it will not tolerate forced labour or “online businesses.”
However, the BBC said that it was “quietly told by local people that the scam business was still running.”
An Australian casino operator in the city told the same media outlet that online gambling was “the main business in Shwe Kokko.”
‘Criminal Empires’
In 2022, the Washington-backed United States Institute for International Peace claimed that the KNA “reaps massive profits from growing criminal empires” in the areas it controls.
The think tank claimed that the city’s architects have abandoned plans for a large network of casinos in favor of scam compounds and “zones designed without physical casinos.”
Formerly known as the Karen Border Guard Force, the 7,000-soldier strong KNA reportedly has battalions stationed in Hlaingbwe, Hpapun, Myawaddy, and Kyainseikgyi.
Shwe Kokko sits on the west bank of the Moei River, which separates Myanmar from Thailand. The Thai police force has recently announced plans to combat tech-related crimes and human trafficking in border areas.
