On May 14, Myanmar’s military regime introduced a draft bill that would impose life imprisonment on individuals convicted of operating digital currency fraud schemes.
The proposed Anti-Online Scam Bill stipulates that those found guilty of digital currency fraud or managing online scam operations could face penalties ranging from ten years behind bars to life in prison. In cases where perpetrators employ violence, torture, unlawful detention, or cruel treatment to coerce others into committing scams, the bill permits capital punishment.
Myanmar’s military-backed parliament, often characterized by analysts as a rubber-stamp body, is scheduled to convene next during the first week of June to consider the legislation. This bill marks the first legislative initiative by the new government under coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, who assumed the civilian presidency last month.
Southeast Asia has seen a surge in internet fraud compounds, creating a major regional crisis. The FBI reported that cryptocurrency-related fraud losses in the United States reached $11.4 billion in its latest crime report, with over half of all internet crime losses linked to crypto schemes. Many of the networks behind these losses operate from compounds in Southeast Asian nations.
US authorities have intensified enforcement efforts. In April 2026, the Department of Justice froze $701 million in cryptocurrency tied to global scam networks, specifically naming compounds in Myanmar and Cambodia that rely on trafficked or coerced workers to carry out large-scale fraud. The scale of Myanmar’s operations is well documented; Chainalysis found that romance scammers operating from the KK Park compound in Myawaddy alone siphoned nearly $100 million in crypto from victims worldwide between 2022 and 2024.
Myanmar’s bill reflects a broader regional trend toward stricter anti-fraud measures. Cambodia adopted similar legislation in March 2026, with prison sentences of up to ten years for ringleaders, while Singapore plans to launch a dedicated Cyber Command enforcement unit in July 2026.