Myanmar's junta has unveiled its toughest crackdown yet on scam compounds. A newly disclosed draft of the Anti-Online Scam Bill proposes the death penalty for anyone who uses violence, torture, unlawful arrest, or detention to coerce others into committing online fraud. Operators of scam facilities—commonly known as scam compounds—and those directly involved in cryptocurrency fraud would face life imprisonment.
Death and Life Sentences Target Scam Compounds and Crypto Crime
The draft bill, designed to eradicate fraud networks, imposes severe penalties graded by offense. The death penalty targets individuals who employ violence, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, or cruel treatment to force victims into online scams. Life imprisonment applies to those who run scam compounds or carry out cryptocurrency fraud directly. The bill also outlines the creation of a new special committee tasked with coordinating international cooperation against online scams. It is scheduled for deliberation by the military-backed parliament in the first week of June.
International Sanctions Mount as Crypto Fraud Losses Hit $11.4B
The move comes as Myanmar faces intense global scrutiny. In recent years, armed compounds in conflict zones have been exposed as hubs for transnational scam operations. Victims are lured, trafficked, and forced to commit fraud—predominantly crypto investment schemes—against victims worldwide.
International pressure has been building. In September 2025, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned nine entities in Myanmar's Shwe Kokko area and ten in Cambodia, accusing them of involvement in crypto investment fraud and using debt bondage, violence, and coercion to force victims into scam work.
The financial toll is staggering. The FBI's 2025 Cyber Crime Report estimated that crypto-related fraud losses hit $11.4 billion, accounting for over half of all cybercrime losses. Seniors alone reported $4.4 billion in losses. Whether the bill will pass and be effectively enforced in Myanmar's border regions—where warlords hold sway—remains a key question for global law enforcement and the crypto community.