The European Union (EU) has declared a new wave of penalties against Myanmar, with a focus on a junta-affiliated militia implicated in internet scams that have affected both the local Myanmar community and residents of neighboring nations.

Late yesterday, the European Council disclosed a series of “extra limitations” levied against three individuals and one organization linked to the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF). The BGF wields significant control over a large region along the Thai border in Karen State.

The Council’s announcement underscores the EU’s commitment to combat the escalating problem of online fraud in Myanmar. This issue is not only a violation of human rights but is also increasingly destabilizing the country and the surrounding region.

The penalties focus on the Chit Linn Myaing Group (CLM) and its founder and ex-chairman, Col. Saw Chit Thu. CLM is known to profit from scam operations in Myawaddy township along the Thai-Myanmar border, including the city of Shwe Kokko. Over the past ten years, Shwe Kokko has morphed into a hotspot for international crime, such as online fraud, drug and human trafficking, and severe human rights abuses, including forced labor and torture.

The European Council also identified two other individuals for their roles in Shwe Kokko’s criminal activities. The first is Lt. Col. Mote Thun, a founding member and deputy secretary-general of the Karen BGF, who holds significant influence in the southern part of Myawaddy, where numerous scam centers are situated. The second is Maj. Tin Win, a subordinate of Saw Chit Thu, who reportedly benefits from the scam operations near Myawaddy.

As a result of these sanctions, the assets of CLM and the individuals mentioned will be frozen, and they will be barred from traveling to the EU. Direct or indirect provision of funds or economic resources to these individuals or for their benefit is also prohibited.

CLM, under the control of the Karen BGF (a former faction of the Karen National Union that split in the mid-1990s under Saw Chit Thu’s leadership), engaged in shady and criminal commercial activities, including online scams, for self-sustenance.

The most extensive scam operations are based in Shwe Kokko, where CLM has initiated the $15 billion New Yatai City project in collaboration with the Hong Kong-registered Yatai International Holding Group. Initially focused on casinos and online gambling, it has since diversified into digital scams, attracting hundreds of workers, many from China, with the lure of high-paying jobs, only to virtually enslave them upon arrival.

In another development, the BGF announced earlier this year that it was separating from the military and rebranding itself as the Karen National Army, but the group continues to assume a mercenary role in the border areas. It’s speculated to have aided in preventing Myawaddy from falling to resistance forces in April.

In December of last year, the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada imposed coordinated sanctions against 14 individuals and entities for their involvement in Southeast Asia’s online scamming industry, including Saw Chit Thu and two other individuals connected to Shwe Kokko.

With the recent additions, the EU has now imposed sanctions on 106 individuals and 22 organizations in Myanmar, which have been announced gradually since the military coup in February 2021.