Imposing Sanctions on Online Scam Centers in Southeast Asia

The United States is taking coordinated action to protect Americans from large-scale online fraud and to expose the human rights abuses that enable it. In 2024, Americans lost at least $10 billion to scam operations in Southeast Asia, according to a U.S. government estimate.

In response, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today imposed sanctions on Cambodian Senator Kok An and 28 associated individuals and entities. Kok An and his associates have operated and profited from scam compounds that target U.S. citizens and often use human trafficking victims who are forced to commit unlawful acts under the threat of violence, as documented in the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report). These facilities, many housed in casinos and commercial complexes, have stolen millions of dollars from Americans through deceptive digital-asset "investment" schemes that begin with unsolicited messages and false promises of friendship or romance.

This action was taken alongside ongoing efforts by the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and the Department of Justice's Scam Center Strike Force.

These sanctions protect Americans and their hard-earned savings from the pervasive threat of online scam operations by disrupting the ability of criminal networks to perpetuate industrial-scale fraud using forced labor and physical and sexual abuse.

The Department of the Treasury's sanctions designations were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13694, as amended by E.O. 13757, E.O. 14144, and E.O. 14306 ("E.O. 13694, as amended. For more information, see Treasury's Press Release.

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