Myanmar’s ruling military junta has introduced a draft “Anti-Online Scam Bill” that would impose the death penalty on individuals who use violence, torture, or illegal detention to force others into online scam work, and life imprisonment for those operating crypto scam centers. The bill was tabled in parliament on 14 May 2026, with the military-controlled legislature expected to reconvene in the first week of June to consider it.
The proposed legislation also mandates the creation of a committee to coordinate international cooperation against online scam operations. This move comes amid persistent global criticism of Myanmar for hosting fortified compounds in conflict zones where trafficked victims are coerced into large-scale cyber fraud, including crypto investment schemes.
In September 2025, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned multiple entities in Myanmar’s Shwe Kokko region and Cambodia for involvement in crypto scams involving debt bondage and violence. The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded $11.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related fraud losses, accounting for more than half of all internet crime losses, with seniors alone losing $4.4 billion.
Myanmar’s crackdown aligns with broader regional efforts. China has dismantled major scam rings like the Ming and Bai families, with 16 members sentenced to death and 11 hanged in early 2026 after convictions. Over 27,000 telecom fraud cases were processed by Chinese courts by the end of 2025, and more than 41,000 repatriated individuals were convicted. Cambodia, too, passed its first anti-online scam law in March 2026, imposing up to 20‑year prison terms and heavy fines for violent scam operations.
