NAIROBI,Kenya, Nov 6- The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on a Cambodia-based transnational criminal organisation accused of running international online scam operations, as hundreds of Kenyans rescued from scam centres in Southeast Asia emerge as victims of the expanding criminal networks.
The latest measures target four individuals and 41 entities linked to the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organisation, which Washington says operates sophisticated cyber-enabled fraud schemes targeting victims in the United States and across the world.
The US Embassy in Nairobi said the sanctions were also intended to disrupt criminal networks responsible for trafficking Kenyans and other foreign nationals into forced labour in online scam centres.
“Hundreds of Kenyans were rescued from scam centers in Southeast Asia in 2026. These sanctions target the criminal organizations trafficking Kenyans and others abroad into forced labor in online scam centers,” the Embassy said.
The sanctions were announced on November 5 by the US Department of State and are being implemented by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
According to the State Department, the latest designations build on previous measures announced in October 2025 and June 2026 targeting the organisation’s leadership, affiliated companies and financial facilitators.
The Prince Group network is accused of using large-scale scam compounds across Southeast Asia to defraud victims through sophisticated online schemes, with the latest sanctions targeting individuals and companies alleged to have continued providing material support to the organisation.
Washington also announced separate sanctions against Malaysian national Chui Kok Wa, accused of managing a network of scammers operating in Madagascar who targeted American victims, including through schemes designed to steal digital assets.
The US said criminal charges against Chui were unsealed on October 27, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, where he faces a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The latest action was taken under Executive Order 14390, titled Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens, alongside other executive orders targeting transnational criminal organisations and malicious cyber-enabled activities.
The US government said it would continue targeting criminal networks involved in cybercrime, fraud and extortion, arguing that the latest measures were part of broader efforts to dismantle organisations operating across international borders.
For Kenya, the sanctions come amid growing concern over the recruitment and trafficking of citizens to Southeast Asian countries, where some have reportedly been lured by employment opportunities before being trapped in compounds and forced to participate in online scams.
