UK, US Launch Joint Action Against Global Scam Networks Operating in Southeast Asia

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi: The British High Commission in India on Wednesday announced that the United Kingdom, in coordination with the United States, has launched joint sanctions targeting masterminds behind large-scale scam centres operating across Southeast Asia. The move is part of a concerted international effort to curb transnational fraud and protect victims of trafficking and financial exploitation.

According to the High Commission, the UK has sanctioned a multi-billion-pound global network responsible for running scam centres that not only defraud victims but also subject trafficked workers to severe abuse. “Masterminds behind industrial-scale scam centres in Southeast Asia have been targeted by sanctions, in coordination with the US,” the statement read.

The sanctions are designed to expose and disrupt the network’s financial activities, effectively locking them out of the UK’s financial system. Officials said the joint action will help dismantle the infrastructure behind these organised crime operations.

“The UK is helping to tackle an economic scourge which cost East and Southeast Asia US $37 billion in 2023,” the High Commission noted, calling it a major step in combating the exploitation of vulnerable workers and protecting global financial integrity.