Myanmar approves death sentence for cyberscam offences
The law also sets life sentences for running scam centres and crypto scams as Myanmar seeks to curb trafficking and torture in the industry.
- On Tuesday, July 28, 2026, Myanmar's Union Parliament passed the Anti-Online Scam Bill, authorizing capital punishment for those who coerce victims into scam center work. Union Parliament Speaker Aung Lin Dwe announced the approval during a live broadcast in Naypyidaw.
- Internet fraud factories have flourished in war-torn Myanmar, where civil war instability created fertile ground for organized crime groups running transnational scam operations in fortified compounds targeting web users worldwide with romance and cryptocurrency investment cons.
- Draft legislation published in May imposed sentences of 10 years to life imprisonment for operating scam centers or committing digital currency fraud. If coercion causes death, "the death penalty shall be imposed," the law states.
- Military authorities recently raided a cybercrime center, detaining over 2,000 people. Lower house MP Aye Chan confirmed the death sentence provisions remained in the final law, stating "the important parts of the bill remained the same."
- Analysts describe the parliament as a rubber-stamp legislature, with Western nations criticizing the military-backed vote as a sham meant to launder the junta's image. This legislation is the first passed by Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing's government.
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36 Articles
Burma approves death penalty for scammers months after FBI's $8 billion crypto crackdown
Burma approved the death penalty for internet scam operators involved in violence or forced labor, months after the FBI's $8 billion bitcoin seizure from organized crime networks.
Myanmar Approves Death Penalty for 'Violent' Online Scam Crimes Under New Anti-Fraud Law
Myanmar's military-backed parliament has approved a new anti-fraud law that authorises the death penalty for the most serious online scam offences, including cases involving violent coercion, torture and deaths linked to cyberscam operations. The legislation was passed on Tuesday in Naypyidaw and marks the first law enacted under the country's new government led by President Min Aung Hlaing, according to lawmakers who confirmed the measure. Over…
The parliament of Myanmar, supported by the military, passed on Tuesday a law that authorizes capital punishment for those who detain or coerce violently victims to work in online coup centers. Internet fraud factories proliferated in the war-torn country and part of the prosperous economy of Southeast Asian coups targeting web users around the world with romantic coups and cryptocurrency investment.
Myanmar has approved a new law that prescribes the death penalty for call center gang members and scammers who torture victims, force them into labor, or cause death, in an effort to dismantle its image as a hub for cybercrime.
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