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On May 5, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Myanmar’s Karen National Army (KNA) and three people it identified as leaders for their alleged roles in facilitating cyber scams, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling. Treasury linked the group to scam operations around Shwe Kokko, near Thailand. The designation was an administrative sanctions action, not a court finding of guilt.
Which Myanmar militia did the U.S. sanction?
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the U.S. Treasury Department, added the KNA and three individuals to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List on May 5, 2025. OFAC’s entry lists the group under the aliases Karen Border Guard Force, Kayin Border Guard Force, and Kayin National Army. It labels the KNA a criminal organization and applies U.S. transnational-crime and Burma-related sanctions authorities.
The individuals named in the action were:
- Saw Chit Thu, identified by Treasury as the KNA’s leader.
- Saw Htoo Eh Moo.
- Saw Chit Chit.
OFAC’s designation restricts dealings covered by U.S. sanctions law; it does not, by itself, establish criminal guilt in court. Treasury’s statements about the group and individuals should therefore be understood as agency allegations.
Why did Treasury designate the KNA?
Treasury said the KNA and the named leaders had roles in facilitating cyber scams that harm U.S. citizens, as well as human trafficking and cross-border smuggling. In a September 2025 account, Treasury said KNA leaders profited from transnational crime, including scam centers using trafficked labor and the sale of utilities to scam operations.
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Treasury placed the KNA’s headquarters in Shwe Kokko, in Myawaddy Township in southeastern Karen State, near Thailand. It described Yatai New City, a prominent compound in Shwe Kokko, as having been created by She Zhijiang and Saw Chit Thu. The agency reported that people were allegedly recruited with false promises, detained, abused, and forced to scam people online.
How do scam centers deceive victims and coerce workers?
Treasury described a pattern in which criminal organizations in Southeast Asia recruit people under false pretenses and then use debt bondage, physical violence, or threats of forced prostitution to compel them to contact potential fraud victims. The people carrying out the messages may themselves be trafficking victims.
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- A scammer contacts a target through a message, often presenting the approach as a friendship or romantic connection.
- The conversation builds trust before the scammer steers the target toward a purported virtual-asset investment website.
- The site appears legitimate but is controlled by the criminals; money deposited there is stolen.
This means the person messaging a target may be participating under coercion rather than acting freely. Treasury’s account describes the scam pattern and alleged coercion; it does not establish the circumstances of every individual worker or operation.
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How large are the reported losses?
Treasury reported a U.S. government estimate that Americans lost at least $10 billion in 2024 to scam operations based in Southeast Asia, a 66 percent increase over the previous year. The Treasury material reporting the estimate does not identify the original agency that produced it, so the figure should be attributed to Treasury’s report of a U.S. government estimate rather than to a more specific source.
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How is the KNA action different from the later DKBA sanctions?
Treasury announced a separate action on November 12, 2025, involving the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), not the KNA. The agency said the Tai Chang compound near Myawaddy was in DKBA-controlled territory and designated the group, four senior leaders, three companies, and Thai national Chamu Sawang over alleged connections to supporting or developing scam centers.
| Action | Designated group and associated parties | Geography or compound cited | Conduct Treasury alleged |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2025 | KNA; Saw Chit Thu, Saw Htoo Eh Moo, and Saw Chit Chit | Shwe Kokko, including the Yatai New City compound | Facilitating cyber scams, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling |
| November 12, 2025 | DKBA; four senior leaders; Trans Asia International Holding Group Thailand Company Limited; Troth Star Company Limited; and Chamu Sawang | Tai Chang compound near Myawaddy, described by Treasury as being in DKBA-controlled territory | Alleged connections to supporting or developing scam centers |
The November action provides later context about Treasury’s sanctions targeting scam-center networks, but it is not part of the May designation of the KNA.
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The May announcement records OFAC’s designation of the KNA and three named individuals under U.S. sanctions authorities. Treasury’s public statements give the agency’s reasons and describe alleged links to scams and trafficking. Those statements are not independent judicial findings, and the designation alone should not be treated as proof that a particular person committed a crime.
Sanctions status and applicable compliance requirements can change. Anyone who needs to determine whether a specific transaction or party is covered should consult the current OFAC entry and applicable U.S. sanctions guidance; this article is not a sanctions-screening determination.
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