Myanmar's military government has proposed new legislation introducing the death penalty for criminals who use violence to coerce individuals into crypto scam center operations. The "Anti-Online Scam Bill" draft, published today, targets those employing "violence, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, or cruel treatment" to force online scams.
The proposed bill will undergo scrutiny when Myanmar's military government, which seized power in a 2021 coup, reconvenes Parliament in June. Local media reports indicate that individuals found running scam centers or conducting crypto scams will also face a potential life sentence. It remains unclear if this same severe penalty would apply to victims forced to undertake scams against their will. Myanmar's president Min Aung Hlaing recently commuted all existing death sentences to life imprisonment just last month.
These legislative moves follow years of accusations that Myanmar conducts raids on scam centers merely "for optics" while simultaneously protecting criminal enterprises. The military's recent operation at the KK Park scam compound near the Thai border, for instance, saw victims flee and some arrests. Analysts and locals cited by The Irrawaddy and Myanmar Witness described it as largely a public display. Starlink satellite internet services have reportedly become a lifeline for these widespread scam compounds.
The illicit crypto scam industry, estimated at over a billion dollars, has established numerous compounds along Myanmar’s borders and across Southeast Asia, including in Cambodia and Laos. One alleged kingpin, Prince Group CEO Chen Zi, saw HK$9 billion, equivalent to $1.15 billion, in assets frozen by the Hong Kong High Court today. Chen is currently in custody in China, extradited from Cambodia in January, facing accusations of operating a vast criminal enterprise that included crypto scam centers.
Both Chen Zi and his Prince Group were sanctioned by the US and UK last year. Another accused scam conglomerate, Huione Group, also faced sanctions. Huione Group's financial arm, Huione Pay, had its bank license revoked last year. This firm maintained significant financial ties to the family of Cambodia's political elite.
Panda Bank, which reportedly shared senior leadership with Huione Pay's operations, also saw its license revoked last February. Liquidators for Panda Bank announced yesterday that its mobile application would be removed from app stores. The freezing of Chen Zi's assets and the revocation of these bank licenses represent a broader regional effort to disrupt the financial infrastructure supporting these criminal networks.
The human toll of these scam operations is significant, with thousands of individuals trafficked and forced into labor under brutal conditions. Many victims are lured by false job promises, only to be held captive and compelled to execute elaborate "pig butchering" scams, extorting funds from people worldwide. Regional authorities have struggled to repatriate victims and dismantle these complex, often violent, organizations.
China, a primary target for these scams and a source of many victims, has intensified its crackdown, with reports of additional executions related to pig butchering fraud.