The United States sanctions Cambodian senators, and the crackdown on crypto scams continues to escalate

Odaily Planet Daily News: The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Cambodian Senator Kok An, accusing him of controlling nationwide “scam parks” and defrauding U.S. victims by stealing funds through cryptocurrency investment scams.

According to a statement issued by OFAC on Thursday, in addition to Kok An, 28 individuals and entities were also added to the sanctions list, all believed to be connected to his scam network. The network is accused of using “high-return investment” as bait to induce victims to send cryptocurrency assets.

The move follows Cambodian police raids on two scam centers in the border city of Poipet. Earlier, Kok An had been accused of operating scam outposts in the region.

OFAC said that scammers typically gain victims’ trust by establishing “friendship” or romantic relationships, then directing them to participate in so-called cryptocurrency investment platforms, thereby stealing funds, with the total amount involved reaching several million U.S. dollars.

It is worth noting that some of the people involved in the scams are also victims of human trafficking, forced to carry out illegal activities under threats of violence. OFAC pointed out that these scam centers are usually located in casinos or converted office parks, serving not only for money laundering but also as bases for scamming U.S. citizens and committing human rights abuses.

In addition, regulators also simultaneously seized more than 500 fake website domain names used to carry out cryptocurrency investment scams, showing that the United States’ crackdown on related criminal activities is further intensifying.