US imposes sanctions on Myanmar ethnic militia for 'facilitating cyber scams'

BANGKOK — An ethnic militia in southeastern Myanmar that has been sanctioned by the United States for alleged involvement in human trafficking and online scams on Tuesday denied the accusations.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday announced sanctions against the Karen National Army, or KNA, as well as its leader Col. Saw Chit Thu and his sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit. They are accused of ''facilitating cyber scams that harm U.S. citizens, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling,'' according to a Treasury Department statement.

''Cyber scam operations, such as those run by the KNA, generate billions in revenue for criminal kingpins and their associates, while depriving victims of their hard-earned savings and sense of security,'' said Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender. ''Treasury is committed to using all available tools to disrupt these networks and hold accountable those who seek to profit from these criminal schemes.''

Those who are hired to carry out the scams have often been tricked into taking the jobs under false pretences and find themselves trapped in virtual slavery.

The sanctions block the targeted individuals and their companies from accessing money and assets under U.S. control, and prohibit U.S. citizens from providing financial services to them.

Saw Chit Thu has already been sanctioned by the European Union and the U.K. for profiting from scam compounds and human trafficking.

Lt. Col. Naing Maung Zaw, a spokesperson for the KNA — which operates as the Karen ethnic minority's official Border Guard Force affiliated with Myanmar's military government — said the group's activities are aimed at regional development and not related to cyber scams.

He described the U.S. sanctions as a deliberate act of abasement by a powerful country over a weaker one.

''They are doing it because they can,'' he told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Local militias in several border regions have de facto control in areas where their minority groups are dominant. The KNA controls Shwe Kokko and some areas in Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand in the state of Kayin, also known as Karen state.

Shwe Kokko and Myawaddy are known havens for criminal syndicates that have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia and elsewhere into helping run online scams, including romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. Critics have accused the KNA of being involved in the criminal activities, at least to the extent of providing protection to the scam centers.

Naing Maung Zaw said scam operations were carried out not only in areas controlled by the KNA but also in other places in Myawaddy.

He acknowledged that his group rented land to some businesses holding the property where scam centers were located and said the KNA would continue with its mass repatriation of the foreigners working in scam centers, which it carries out in cooperation with the military government.

He said 7,454 of 8,575 foreign scam workers have been repatriated through Thailand following a crackdown on the scam centers by Thailand, Myanmar and China in February.

Naing Maung Zaw said more than 10,000 people remain to be identified in the KNA-controlled areas, and the group will continue to work toward the elimination of scam activities.

Kayin state, which is dominated by the Karen ethnic minority, has seen intense armed conflict since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

The U.S. has previously imposed sanctions on Myanmar's military leaders, their suppliers and state-owned banks in connection with alleged human rights abuses