U.S. Sanctions Cambodian Senator Kok An Over Crypto Scams

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday designated Cambodian Senator Kok An and 28 related entities, accusing them of operating a large crypto scam network that used resorts and casinos as scam centers where trafficking victims were forced to pose as romantic partners to solicit funds.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the network converted Kok An’s casinos and venues owned by his associates into operations that generated and laundered illicit proceeds. OFAC said criminal groups staffed those locations with trafficking victims who contacted targets around the world, built fake relationships and guided victims to send money to sham cryptocurrency trading platforms.

The list of sanctioned entities includes several casinos, casino operators, banks and investment firms with ties to Kok An. The designation freezes any U.S. assets of the individuals and entities named and generally bars U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with them.

The action was coordinated with the Scam Center Strike Force, a multi-agency federal effort focused on dismantling crypto scam operations. The Strike Force also announced criminal charges in a separate case against two people accused of running a crypto scam in Burma and trying to set up an operation in Cambodia. Officials said the task force is concentrating on actors operating in Southeast Asia, including Burma, Cambodia and Laos.

Stablecoin issuer Tether froze roughly $344 million in USDT across two Tron addresses on Thursday in coordination with U.S. authorities. Blockchain security firm PeckShield identified the two addresses as holding about $213 million and $131 million, respectively. Treasury did not immediately confirm whether the freeze is linked to the new OFAC designations.

Last fall, U.S. law enforcement seized about $14 billion in Bitcoin tied to a Cambodia-based crypto scam operation, the largest asset seizure in Department of Justice history. Federal authorities have pointed to cross-border money laundering, complicit local businesses and abusive labor practices as factors that enable large-scale scam operations.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a statement, pledged: “Treasury will continue to target fraudsters and scam centers that steal billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, no matter where they operate or how well-connected they are.”

OFAC said the sanctions aim to disrupt the financial flows that sustain the scam centers and limit the ability of the accused parties to use international banking and investment channels.