The United States has sanctioned nearly 20 companies and individuals in Myanmar and Cambodia for their involvement in part of a multibillion-dollar global scam industry built on the back of enslaved human trafficking victims.

The Treasury Department on Monday announced it had issued financial and diplomatic sanctions on nine targets operating in Myanmar’s notorious Shwe Kokko city, and 10 in Cambodia.

“Southeast Asia’s cyber scam industry not only threatens the well-being and financial security of Americans, but also subjects thousands of people to modern slavery,” undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K Hurley said in a statement, adding that Americans last year lost more than $10bn from scam operations originating in the region.

The department

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