US Sanctions Cambodian Senator Over Crypto Scam Network; DOJ Restrains $700M

Gate News message, April 24 — The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Cambodian Senator Kok An and 29 other individuals and entities linked to his network of "scam compounds" that have defrauded Americans through fake cryptocurrency investment platforms. As part of the coordinated crackdown, the U.S. Department of Justice's Scam Center Strike Force restrained over $700 million tied to alleged money laundering from Southeast Asian crypto investment scams and seized 503 websites targeting American victims.

OFAC said Kok An controls scam compounds throughout Cambodia, operating out of casinos and office parks retrofitted for fraudulent activity. The sanctions follow police raids on scam centers in Poipet, a Cambodian city near the Thai border, where An was previously accused of running operations. Businessman Rithy Raksmei was also sanctioned as part of the network.

According to OFAC, fraudsters lure Americans through friendship or romantic relationships and convince them to send crypto under the guise of legitimate investment platforms offering high returns. The agency noted that in some cases, individuals perpetrating these scams are themselves victims of human trafficking forced to commit unlawful acts under threat of violence.

The DOJ's actions included criminal charges against two Chinese nationals linked to a scam compound in Burma, seizure of a Telegram channel with over 6,000 members used to recruit trafficked workers, and takedown of 503 fraudulent cryptocurrency investment websites. Federal prosecutors charged Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie with wire fraud conspiracy. The State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the seizure of proceeds from fraud schemes associated with Tai Chang scam centers in Burma's Karen State.