Myanmar’s combined parliament, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, approved the Anti-Online Scam Bill in full on Tuesday after reconciling versions previously passed by its lower and upper chambers. The measure marks the first legislation enacted under President Min Aung Hlaing, who assumed the civilian presidency in April following the 2021 military takeover.

State media reported that the bill advanced at a joint session in the capital Naypyidaw. Union Parliament Speaker Aung Lin Dwe announced the passage during a live broadcast. The final amended text has not been publicly released, and it remains unclear whether the measure has received presidential assent or when it will take effect.

Penalties Under the Legislation

A draft published in May outlined the core provisions that lawmakers retained. Operating an online scam center or committing digital currency fraud, including cryptocurrency-related schemes, carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Offenses involving violence, torture, unlawful arrest or detention, or cruel treatment used to force individuals into scam work are punishable by terms ranging from ten years to life.

Where such conduct results in a victim’s death, the draft states that the death penalty shall be imposed. Lower House lawmaker Aye Chan confirmed that the capital punishment provision survived into the approved version.

The legislation also creates coordination mechanisms, including a central committee and an Anti-Scam Centre, with powers to freeze accounts, confiscate proceeds, and share information with banks, telecommunications providers, and foreign governments.

Regional Scam Operations and Forced Labor

Parts of Myanmar, particularly areas near the Thai border such as Myawaddy and compounds including Shwe Kokko, have become hubs for large-scale online fraud. These operations commonly involve romance scams and fake cryptocurrency investment schemes in which victims are directed to transfer digital assets that are difficult to recover.

Many workers inside the compounds are themselves victims of trafficking. Individuals from dozens of countries have reported being lured by false job offers, having their documents confiscated, and being compelled to conduct scams under threat of violence.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that scam-related losses across East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania reached between 88.3 billion and 114.1 billion dollars in 2025. Criminal networks have increasingly used cryptocurrencies for payments and laundering, complicating efforts by law enforcement to trace proceeds.

In May 2025 the United States Treasury designated the Karen National Army, active along the eastern border, as a transnational criminal organization, alleging that its territory hosts multiple cyber scam syndicates and that the group has benefited from ties to Myanmar’s military. The militia has denied involvement in scam activities.

Political Context and Capital Punishment

Under Myanmar’s constitution the military holds a quarter of parliamentary seats. The Union Solidarity and Development Party secured a large majority of the remaining seats in recent elections that the party formerly led by Aung San Suu Kyi was barred from contesting after its dissolution.

Myanmar resumed judicial executions in 2022 after a decades-long pause. In April, shortly after taking office, President Min Aung Hlaing commuted all existing death sentences to life imprisonment. The new bill reintroduces capital punishment specifically for the most severe cases of coerced scam labor resulting in death.

Cambodia has advanced comparable legislation that would impose life sentences on leaders of scam compounds. United States authorities have also seized tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency linked to regional investment and romance scams in recent months.

Publication of the final enacted text will determine the precise scope of offenses, enforcement authorities, and any transitional arrangements. Implementation is expected to require cooperation from financial institutions and telecommunications companies as well as cross-border information sharing, given the transnational nature of the networks involved.