The Isle of Man's Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) has highlighted its commitment to following recent sanctions brought in by the UK and US Governments against an illegal scam group in Southeast Asia.
The groups, according to the UK Government website, "are using sophisticated schemes, including scams in which people are lured into fake romantic relationships, to defraud victims on an industrial scale, including in the UK. Those conducting the scams are often trafficked foreign nationals, trapped and forced to carry out online fraud under threat of torture."
Centres have been located in both disused and purpose-built casinos across Cambodia and Myanmar, some as large as seven storeys tall.
A £12m ($16m) mansion, £100m office and seventeen flats in London have been frozen as part of the action taken to freeze one of the accused leaders of the scam network out of the UK financial system.
Lord Hanson, Fraud Minister, said: "Fraudsters prey on the most vulnerable by stealing life savings, ruining trust, and devastating lives. We will not tolerate this.
"These sanctions prove our determination to stop those who profit from this activity, hold offenders accountable, and keep dirty money out of the UK. Through our new, expanded Fraud Strategy and the upcoming Global Fraud Summit, we will go even further to disrupt corrupt networks and protect the public from shameless criminals."
Under the Sanctions Act 2024, UK sanctions are automatically applied to the Isle of Man.
This means that any companies operating on the island must check any accounts associated with their business are not part of the sanctioned list.
Jane Poole-Wilson, Justice and Home Affairs Minister, said: "The Isle of Man is resolute in its commitment to playing a proactive role in the international fight against transnational organised crime. Sanctions are one of the mechanisms we employ to protect our community and uphold the integrity of our financial systems. We will continue to work closely with our partners in the UK and beyond to ensure that those who seek to use the Island for criminality are held to account."
The scams start by forming fake online relationships and asking people to send them money, before laundering the money through online gambling platforms
