Myanmar Parliament Passes Crypto Scam Bill With Penalties of Up to Life Imprisonment

Myanmar’s Parliament has passed an anti-online scam bill that would impose prison terms of 10 years to life for crypto scams and for operating online scam centers, adding a tougher legal response to an industry that has drawn international scrutiny across Southeast Asia.

The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, Myanmar’s combined Parliament, approved the bill in full on Tuesday after resolving differences between versions previously passed by its two chambers, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM). The report did not say whether the bill had received presidential assent or when it would take effect.

The legislation is Myanmar’s latest effort to curb a growing cyberscam industry that has turned parts of the country into hubs for online fraud. That context has made the bill notable beyond Myanmar, as scam operations in the region have increasingly relied on cross-border recruitment, coercion, and digital payment channels that also affect victims abroad.

A draft of the bill was published in May and prohibited crypto scams while setting penalties ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment. It also provided for sentences of 10 years to life, or capital punishment, for violence, torture, unlawful arrest, or detention used to force people into online scams, with the death penalty required when the conduct causes death.

According to a Strait Times report citing Agence France-Presse, Lower House MP Aye Chan said the final version retained the death-penalty provision and that there were no significant changes to the draft’s important provisions.

The final amended text was not immediately available, so the precise wording of the crypto-related penalties could not be independently confirmed. The next step will be the bill’s formal completion before any enforcement timeline becomes clear, leaving open when authorities could begin applying the new penalties in practice.