TRM Labs has noted that on April 24, 2026, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took decisive action against a major cross-border criminal enterprise. Cambodian Senator Kok An and 28 associated individuals and entities were designated for their roles in a large-scale digital asset fraud operation that preyed on American victims.
The sanctions, issued under Executive Order 13694 as amended and aligned with a March 2026 directive against foreign cyber-enabled crime, mark the latest escalation in efforts to dismantle organized scam centers operating from Southeast Asia.
TRM Labs also mentioned that at the center of the network is a sophisticated “pig butchering” scheme.
Fraudsters first build romantic or friendly relationships with targets, often via social media, then lure them into fake cryptocurrency investment platforms. Once victims deposit funds, the scammers disappear with the money.
According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, these operations run out of converted casinos, resorts, and compounds in Cambodian cities such as Sihanoukville, Poipet, and Bavet, as well as linked sites in Burma. Human trafficking victims are coerced—sometimes under threat of violence—into executing the scams from these facilities.
Senator Kok An, a prominent political figure, owns Crown Resorts, a hospitality group with casinos and hotels across Cambodia.
TRM’s analysis shows his properties have been repurposed to house scam operations, with his security firm Anco Brothers providing protection and Anco Specialized Bank facilitating financial movements.
Other key figures include Luo Hong, founder of the Bolai compound, a central hub for both scam execution and money laundering; Rithy Raksmei of the K99 Group casino empire; and Burmese-born Cambodian citizens Aik Paung and Sai Aung Linn, who control additional resorts, construction firms, and Heng Feng Cambodia Bank.
The network also maintains ties to a fugitive US-based money launderer, Daren Li, who faces a $4 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Blockchain tracing by TRM Labs reveals highly professionalized laundering techniques.
Over 75 percent of sampled scam addresses employ layered wallet-to-wallet transfers, shared laundering nodes, and rapid conversion into stablecoins through gambling platforms and exchanges.
US Secret Service investigations linked at least $1.3 million directly to Luo Hong’s accounts, while eight U.S.-based co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty to laundering more than $73 million in victim funds.
The action forms part of a broader DOJ Scam Center Strike Force effort, which also included criminal charges against operators of a Burmese compound, seizure of a recruitment messaging app, and takedown of 503 fraudulent investment domains.
It builds on prior sanctions against earlier layers of the same ecosystem, including property tycoon Ly Yong Phat in 2024 and the Prince Group in 2025.
TRM Labs’ 2026 Crypto Crime Report underscores the scale of the threat: illicit cryptocurrency flows reached $158 billion in 2025—a 145 percent jump from the previous year—with fraud and scams accounting for $35 billion.
When factoring in underreporting, global annual losses from investment and romance scams likely exceed $200 billion.
The designations send a clear signal that legitimate businesses in Cambodia’s casino, real estate, and banking sectors must scrutinize indirect exposure to these networks.
By publicly mapping the operational, financial, and political connections sustaining these scam centers, TRM Labs and US authorities have delivered both enforcement and intelligence that will complicate future laundering and protect potential victims worldwide.