According to AFP, Myanmar's House of Representatives Speaker Htin Linn Htun revealed during a live television broadcast that the Union Parliament of Myanmar held a joint session of both houses in Naypyidaw on July 28. In this session, the Anti-Online Fraud Law was officially passed, significantly increasing penalties for online fraud and related crimes.
The draft law announced in May this year states that forcing others to engage in online fraud, and committing violence, torture, illegal detention, or cruel abuse against victims, can result in imprisonment of up to ten years or life imprisonment, with the maximum penalty being death. If the fraudulent act directly leads to death, the offender shall be sentenced to death.
The draft also states that those who operate online fraud operations and commit virtual currency fraud crimes may be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Myanmar lawmakers told AFP that the death penalty clause was included in the final version of the bill. There were not many significant changes to the draft bill, and the main content remained unchanged.
This bill is the first legislation introduced by Myanmar's new government.
Northern Myanmar is a major gathering place for overseas fraudsters. Fraudsters hide in places like Wa State, Mon La, and Kayah in northern Myanmar, and carry out frauds against Chinese citizens, causing significant property losses.
On July 24, Jiang Guoli, Director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, introduced at a press conference that since 2023, China has strengthened police cooperation with Myanmar. The government has comprehensively eradicated large-scale fraud-related areas along the border between Myanmar and China. A total of over 59,000 criminal suspects involved in fraud have been arrested and transferred. The notorious “Four Families” criminal syndicate in Kachin State, Myanmar, has been completely destroyed. At the beginning of 2025, China, Myanmar, and Thailand established a ministerial coordination mechanism for jointly cracking down on fraud-related crimes. Joint efforts were taken to eliminate fraud-related crimes in the Myawaddy region. Ten joint repatriation operations were carried out, and more than 630 buildings in the Myawaddy KK area have been completely demolished.
China will host the inauguration ceremony of the International Alliance Against Telecom and Internet Fraud during the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum in Lianyungang in 2026.
Jiang Guoli introduced that the International Alliance Against Telecom Fraud is an international organization initiated and established by the Chinese government. It aims to effectively combat transnational telecom fraud crimes. The alliance involves the extensive participation of law enforcement agencies from various countries, and it has a certain level of operational coordination and professionalism. To date, more than 40 countries have expressed their interest in joining the alliance.
