NAYPYIDAW – Myanmar’s military-backed parliament has passed a law that brings the death penalty for operators of online scam centres and their helpers. The new regulation hits anyone who holds people captive or forces them with violence to work in the notorious call centre complexes.
If the abuse leads to a victim’s death, execution is mandatory. The so-called Anti-Online Scam Bill passed a joint session of both chambers in Naypyidaw with only minor changes to the original draft.
Death penalty for traffickers and violent offenders
Parliament speaker Aung Lin Dwe announced the decision live on TV on Tuesday. Lawmaker Aye Chan confirmed that the final version keeps the maximum punishment unchanged.
Anyone who runs fraud centres or organises cryptocurrency fraud faces life in prison. The sentencing range runs from ten years behind bars all the way to execution.
First law under new military government
The legislation is the first passed under the new, military-backed government of President Min Aung Hlaing. It comes at a time when Myanmar is seeing an explosive spread of fraud complexes during the ongoing civil war.
The country is regarded as the central hub of Southeast Asia’s online scam industry. Romance scams and crypto investment fraud target victims in more than 80 countries worldwide – including Germany.
Kidnapped and forced to work
Many foreign nationals are lured with fake job offers or directly kidnapped. In the centres near the Thai border, they are held captive and forced to run the scams with threats, violence, and sexual abuse.
The International Organisation for Migration recently recorded a sharp rise in human trafficking into Asian scam centres.
Tens of thousands of people are reportedly still trapped inside the complexes.
China cranks up pressure – and executes
Min Aung Hlaing promised a crackdown on the criminal structures. The backdrop is growing international pressure, especially from China and the United States.
China is getting serious: in January, authorities in the People’s Republic executed eleven members of a crime syndicate. The group was directly connected to fraud complexes in northern Myanmar and had been convicted of fraud, unlawful detention, and murder.
Doubts about effectiveness
Human rights groups and analysts doubt that earlier military operations have weakened the structures permanently. The criticism: despite raids and arrests, thousands of prisoners still sit in the cages along the border.
The new law could increase deterrence. Whether it actually smashes the networks remains an open question given the power of the syndicates.