OFAC Sanctions KNA Individuals and Companies

On September 8, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on nine targets involved in scam operations in Shwe Kokko, Myanmar, along with ten other targets in Cambodia for stealing billions of dollars from Americans using forced labor and violence. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said in the statement, “Southeast Asia's cyber scam industry not only threatens the well-being and financial security of Americans but also subjects thousands of people to modern slavery." 

This round of U.S. sanctions targets three individuals and six companies connected to the KNA and Shwe Kokko. Shwe Kokko is a notorious scam hub located in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, along the border with Thailand. It is controlled by the Karen National Army (KNA), which used to be the Border Guard Force (BGF) and reportedly composed of over 10,000 troops. Following the fall of Myawaddy to resistance forces in April 2024, the KNA played a major role in facilitating the town’s return to military control. These sanctions follow the May 5 OFAC designation of the KNA as a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), along with its leader, Saw Chit Thu, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit. 

The targeted individuals are Tin Win, Saw Min Min Oo, and She Zhijiang. The former two are trusted subordinates of Saw Chit Thu, while the latter is the founder and majority shareholder of Yatai New City in Shwe Kokko. These individuals are running six companies that have been sanctioned. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Tin Win oversees Shwe Myint Thaung Yinn Industry & Manufacturing Company Limited, which has been contracting with energy suppliers to keep the lights on and scams operational in Shwe Kokko. Saw Min Min Oo manages Chit Linn Mying Co., Ltd (CLM Co.), Chit Linn Myaing Toyota Company Limited, Chit Linn Myaing Mining & Industry Company Limited, and Myanmar Yatai International Holding Group Co., Ltd (Myanmar Yatai). Myanmar Yatai is a joint venture between CLM Co. and Yatai International Holdings Group Limited (Yatai IHG), which is owned by She Zhijiang. The joint venture owns, operates, and profits from Yatai New City, as well as the scams that occur within it. 

While the KNA is affiliated with Nay Pyi Taw, sanctioning KNA officials should not be interpreted as a broader shift in U.S. policy toward Myanmar for now. Rather, this move reflects Washington’s effort to protect U.S. interests from the scam industry, which had cost US citizens at least $10 billion in 2024, as made clear by the OFAC statement. However, the KNA’s close ties with the SSPC, including its assistance in recapturing Myawaddy town and its public support for the planned elections, as well as the Myanmar military’s reported involvement in KNA operations and revenue-sharing arrangements (highlighted by USIP last year), raise the question of whether Washington’s focus on combating scams could ultimately shape its broader strategy towards Myanmar.