US strikes again
A month after Myanmar’s Deputy Information Minister Zaw Min questioned the legitimacy of US task force strikes on scam centers in Southeast Asia, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has responded strongly.
The DOJ announced last week that it had seized a crypto investment platform (PIF) used via Casino Kosai on the Myanmar-Thai border, part of the infamous Tai Chang scam center.
US’s first “District-level CIF strike force.”
The Justice Department hailed the operation as a success for the US’s first “District-level CIF strike force.”
The seizure of Casino Kosai followed the launch of the District of Columbia US Attorney’s Office’s “Scam Center Strike Force” three weeks ago, which also included taking down two additional CIF-related websites tied to the Tai Chang network.
Gloves are off
With the DOJ confirming an active strike force in Myanmar, it rebuts Minister Zaw Min’s denial of earlier US strikes on November 19, claiming there was “no evidence of such operations on the ground.”
His comments came after the SAC-controlled military junta arrested 356 individuals in a raid on the notorious KK Park.
The domain seized last week, tickmilleas.com, was used by operatives at the Tai Chang scam compound, linked to the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and the Trans Asia International Holding Group Thailand Company Limited (Trans Asia).
146 people and organizations sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in November
Both DKBA and Trans Asia were among 146 individuals and organizations sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in November for ties to Chinese organized crime and human trafficking.
Tech giants cooperate
Investors using tickmilleas.com were enticed with promises of high returns and shown fake balances “after scammers guided the victims through falsified trades,” according to federal prosecutors.
The FBI has directed Google Play and the Apple App Store to remove apps linked to the scam domain, and the DOJ reported that Meta “identified and voluntarily removed over 2,000 accounts from their social media platforms.”
In 2024 alone, according to the DOJ, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 41,000 complaints “reporting roughly $5.8bn in losses from CIF scams.”
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- Source: SCCGManagement.com