The European Union (EU) has imposed sanctions on the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), accusing the armed group of protecting and facilitating the operation of online scam compounds in Myanmar’s Myawaddy Township, near the Thai border.
The sanctions were announced by the Council of the European Union on 30 July as part of a broader package targeting three entities and seven individuals linked to online scam centres in Southeast Asia. The EU said the measures were imposed over alleged involvement in human trafficking, torture and other serious human rights violations associated with transnational cybercrime operations.
According to the EU, the DKBA controls territory around Myawaddy in Karen State, where large-scale scam compounds have been allowed to operate.
The bloc said the group had permitted illegal scam centres to function within areas under its control, enabling transnational criminal networks to conduct their operations. It also cited reports alleging that DKBA members were involved in acts of violence against trafficking victims held inside the compounds.
The sanctions package also targets two Cambodia-based business groups—Prince Holding Group and Jin Bei Group.
The EU said Prince Holding Group, a multi-billion-dollar Cambodian conglomerate, used subsidiaries and front companies to develop scam compounds in both Cambodia and Myanmar. According to the bloc, those compounds trafficked people from around the world through fraudulent job offers before forcing them to participate in online scams, including cryptocurrency investment fraud.
The company’s chairman, Chen Zhi, was also added to the EU sanctions list.
The EU further sanctioned Jin Bei Group, alleging that the company operated casinos and scam compounds in Cambodia linked to cryptocurrency investment fraud and other forms of online financial scams.
Its chairman, Zhu Zhongbiao, was also designated under the sanctions.
Under the measures, all assets belonging to the sanctioned entities and individuals within the European Union will be frozen. EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds or economic resources available to them.
The seven sanctioned individuals are also subject to EU-wide travel bans, preventing them from entering or transiting through any EU member state.
