Myanmar crypto scam bill clears parliament

Myanmar’s combined Parliament approved the Anti-Online Scam Bill on July 28 after reconciling amendments adopted by its lower and upper chambers. 

The legislation targets digital-currency fraud, online scam centres, forced scam labour and financial infrastructure used by fraud networks.

The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported that the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw approved the bill in full. However, the final amended text, a presidential assent notice and a commencement date were not publicly available as of July 29. The exact penalties therefore remain based on the May draft and comments from lawmakers who reviewed the final version.

What penalties does the Myanmar crypto scam bill contain?

The 63-section draft published in May proposed prison terms of 10 years to life for operating an online scam centre or committing “digital currency fraud.” It also covered recruitment, financial facilitation, telecommunications support and other conduct connected with organised online fraud.

For violence, torture, unlawful arrest, detention or cruel treatment used to force another person into scam work, the draft allowed life imprisonment or capital punishment. It required the death penalty when that conduct caused death. Lower House lawmaker Aye Chan told AFP that the final bill retained the death-penalty provision and said there were “not many significant changes” to its important sections.

Because the enacted wording has not been released, it is not yet possible to confirm whether every offence, sentencing range and exemption survived the parliamentary amendments unchanged.

The bill creates broad financial and data powers

The draft establishes a central committee, regional bodies and an Anti-Scam Centre. It authorises coordination with foreign governments and information sharing among banks, telecommunications providers and state agencies. It also provides procedures for freezing suspicious accounts and confiscating proceeds or equipment linked to scams.

Human Rights Myanmar criticised the proposal before passage, arguing that its surveillance, account-freezing and website-blocking powers could be used against journalists, civil society and political opponents. The group called the bill “a repressive security instrument.” That is an advocacy assessment rather than a finding by a court or independent regulator.

The organisation also questioned the use of capital punishment and the absence of independent oversight. Those concerns will remain difficult to assess fully until authorities publish the final law and any implementing rules.

Scam compounds remain active despite regional raids

The bill arrives as evidence shows Myanmar’s scam-centre industry remains active. Satellite analysis reviewed by Wired identified at least 25 suspected sites built or expanded around Myawaddy during the first half of 2026. The International Justice Mission said the construction suggested previous crackdowns had not stopped the networks.

A July United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime assessment said fraud groups were responding to raids by dispersing, relocating and using smaller operations. Separately, the U.S. Justice Department charged two Chinese nationals in April over an alleged cryptocurrency-investment fraud compound in Burma and announced the restraint of about $700 million in cryptocurrency alongside broader website seizures.

As crypto.news previously reported, U.S. authorities also seized a fraudulent investment domain operated from Burma’s Tai Chang compound. In related coverage, crypto.news reported that India opened an investigation into allegations that citizens were trafficked into Myanmar and forced to conduct crypto scams.

Promulgation and enforcement are the next steps

The immediate next step is publication of the final amended law. That should clarify whether presidential assent has occurred, when the rules begin, which agencies receive enforcement authority and whether transitional provisions apply.

Implementation will also require financial institutions and telecom companies to build reporting and information-sharing systems. International cooperation will be central because victims, workers, operators, payment routes and digital assets often cross several jurisdictions.

No verified crypto-market price reaction was directly attributable to the parliamentary vote. The practical test will be whether authorities pursue senior operators and financial networks, protect trafficking victims and apply the law with due-process safeguards rather than relying mainly on raids against workers.