Overview
- Myanmar’s military-backed parliament approved the Anti-Online Scam Bill on Tuesday, July 28, and lawmakers confirmed the final version kept a death-penalty clause for coercion that causes a victim’s death.
- The May draft tied prison terms of 10 years to life to violence, torture or unlawful detention used to force people into scam centres and set life sentences for running scam camps or committing crypto fraud.
- Authorities have not published the final text, presidential assent, or a start date for the law, leaving key details about who enforces it and how forfeiture, surveillance and account-freezing powers will work unresolved.
- Repatriated survivors and aid groups say many people in scam compounds are victims of trafficking and call for protection and support rather than criminal punishment for coerced workers.
- The law is the first passed under Min Aung Hlaing’s new government and comes as UNODC and international agencies document massive regional losses from scams and uneven cross-border enforcement that complicates practical prosecution.