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Myanmar passes law to punish forced scam labor with death penalty
The bill expands criminal penalties for “digital currency scams” and UNODC estimates regional scam losses of $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion in 2025.
Myanmar’s military-backed parliament has passed the Anti-Online Scam Bill, marking the first law under Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing’s new government, according to Decrypt.
The approved draft would impose the death penalty for people who use violence or unlawful detention to force others to run online scams, and it also retains maximum life imprisonment for operating an online scam center or committing “digital currency scams,” terms that previously included 10 years to life for coercion offenses. Decrypt reports the full text has not been released.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates scam operations across East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania caused $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion in losses in 2025, with people from at least 80 countries found inside compounds. Decrypt also notes the UN has warned police in the region still cannot trace proceeds on-chain.
Separately, the US Treasury sanctioned the Karen National Army in May 2025, saying its Thai border territory is home to cyber scam syndicates, while the KNA denies involvement. Decrypt adds that US prosecutors seized $25 million in crypto tied to scams routed through the region this month and that Myanmar resumed executions in 2022.