Myanmar’s military-backed parliament passed a law Tuesday authorizing the death penalty for forced labor in cyber-scam operations, escalating the consequences for an industry that has exploded across the conflict-torn nation.
The Anti-Online Scam Bill mandates 10-year to life prison sentences for violence, torture, or unlawful detention used to coerce people into conducting cyber fraud. If such abuse results in a victim’s death, “the death penalty shall be imposed,“ according to the
legislation passed by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, or Union Parliament.
Aung Lin Dwe, speaker of the military-backed Union Parliament, announced the bill’s passage during a broadcast on state-controlled television. A draft was previously approved by coup leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing back in May.
The legislative push marks an attempt by the government to leverage transnational security concerns to break its international isolation following a military coup five years ago. Enforcement is nevertheless likely to be limited while large swaths of the country remain under the control of warring ethnic armed groups.
Myanmar’s authorities say they have detained 14,718 foreign nationals who illegally entered the country as of late June. They also reported
demolishing all 77 buildings used for illicit gambling and online scam operations in key border hubs, including the notorious Shwe Kokko and KK Park complexes in Myawaddy Township.
Online scam networks have proliferated across Southeast Asia since the pandemic, turning Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos into hubs for transnational criminal syndicates targeting victims across the globe. The UN
estimates that annual scam losses across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand reached between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion in 2025 alone, exceeding the economic output of several nations in the region.
At the end of the meeting with President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "We had an excellent meeting; we have full partnership with an understanding on the shared goal that there will be no nuclear weapon for Iran and also other goals, one of the best conversations I have had with the US President."
