On 28 July 2026, the sham Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (the joint Lower and Upper Houses) in Naypyidaw passed the sweeping “Anti-Online Scam Bill,” officially enacted as Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 3/2026 on 31 July 2026. The legislation establishes severe legal penalties aimed at dismantling transnational cyber-fraud syndicates that have flourished in Myanmar’s border regions. Crucially, the bill authorizes capital punishment for operators, guards, or managers who utilize violence, torture, illegal abductions, or forced detention to coerce individuals into cyber fraud operations, particularly if such abuse results in a victim’s death. Furthermore, it mandates maximum sentences of life in prison for individuals directly operating online scam centers or committing cryptocurrency fraud.
The passage of this bill marks the first major piece of criminal legislation enacted by the new pseudo-civilian administration led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) following the regime’s heavily orchestrated 2025-26 sham elections. The legislative push comes as the junta faces mounting diplomatic pressure from China and the United States to crack down on industrial-scale scam compounds. During 22-24 July 2026, the junta and junta-aligned Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) have moved thousands of foreign nationals working in their scam site from Kyaukkhet area first to Sonseemyaing village, the headquarters of DKBA, and then to the Payathonzu (Three Pagodas Pass) area in Karen State.
However, the Karen National Union (KNU) and resistance groups remain deeply skeptical, noting that recent crackdowns and deportations have largely resulted in scam outfits merely relocating to other border regions rather than ceasing operations, largely due to the deep complicity of pro-junta Border Guard Forces (BGF) and military-aligned militias that directly profit from leasing land to these criminal enterprises.