The US Treasury has approved a Myanmar militia group known as the Karen National Army (KNA) and has accused them of crypto-related fraud and other criminal activities.
According to a May 5 press release issued by the agency, Karen Army has coordinated a variety of crypto frauds, including the infamous “pig slaughter” scams, and will increasingly contribute to fake crypto schemes for victims. Americans “lost billions of dollars in bulk” from scams that read without specifying amounts, such as scams originating from Myanmar.
“Today, the US Treasury Department's Foreign Assets Administration (OFAC) has approved the Burmese militia group Karen National Army (KNA), as a cross-sectional criminal organization. Release read.
Many international organizations, including the United States, continue to introduce the country's previous name, Burma, demonstrating that they are unaware of the military junta that has been in power at various times since the 1989 coup, which changed its name to Myanmar. The KNA operates in southeastern Myanmar along the Thai border.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=realmh3vwwg
Over the past few years, the Ministry of Finance's Bureau of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued numerous sanctions against cryptocriminal units, including Middle East-based terrorist groups, cybercriminal units operating overseas, and privacy-focused tornado cash.
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Crypto Scams is targeting our residents
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Americans lost $9.3 billion in crypto fraud in 2024, up about 66% since 2023. The most affected groups are formed by individuals over the age of 60 who reported a total of $2.8 billion in cumulative losses.
Pig slaughter fraud is known to have a major impact on victims, both in the crypto space and beyond. Scams consist of long-term fraud where fraudsters build trust with their victims over time before they can convince them to invest in often fake or manipulated cryptographic schemes, often via social media or messaging platforms. According to TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence company, these scams account for more than $4.4 billion stolen in 2023.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Finance, this type of fraud is currently common in Southeast Asia, with victims primarily scams by individuals trafficked. The Karen Army is said to be engaged in enabling both pig slaughter fraud and human trafficking networks to operate on a large scale.
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