Combating Telecom Fraud : Central Supervisory Committee held its meeting

Central Supervisory Committee for Combating Telecom Fraud and Online Gambling held its meeting at the Myanmar Police Force Headquarter in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday. The meeting was attended by Committee Chairman and Union Minister for Home Affairs Lt-Gen Tun Tun Naung along with the Committee Vice-Chairman (1) and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe and many other concerned officials.

The Committee Chairman said the committee was established to eradicate online fraud and gambling activities and under the guidance of the Head of State, Union Territory Online Fraud and Gambling Combating Committee and Region/State Online Fraud and Gambling Combating Committee will be formed in the future.

He said Cyber Security Law was adopted on January 1st, 2025 and came into effect on July 30th. He added that implementations are underway to establish National Anti-Scam Centre in 2026-2027 Fiscal Year.       The central committee is tasked to adopt online fraud combating strategies, policies and procedures in cooperation with related ministers and organizations, investigate Scam Centers and criminals with the cooperative efforts of local and international organizations, share knowledge on online scam and gambling to the public, deport foreign nationals to their respective countries and take legal action to those who committed criminal activities.

He stressed that the Myanmar Government continues to conduct operations in those areas where online fraud and online gambling are operating, from 5th October 2023 to 10th December 2025, 70,016 foreign nationals were investigated in Shan and Kayin States and deported to their respective countries.

According to statements from foreign nationals rescued in Kayin State, most of them entered Thailand by air, travelled from Bangkok to Mae Sot by car or plane, and then illegally crossed the Thaungyin River into Myawady to reach those companies. Others entered Myanmar legally via Yangon International Airport and continued by road to Myawady.

Authorities said 99.6% of the individuals came through Mae Sot, while 0.4% arrived through domestic routes. Although some embassies reported their citizens as trafficking victims, investigations found that several had voluntarily travelled for personal financial reasons and were not victims of human trafficking.

Officials explained that these crimes operate as large, cross-border business networks rather than being based solely inside Myanmar. While scam centres exist in Myanmar, the country is not the origin or main beneficiary of these operations. Not all trafficked workers are Myanmar nationals, and money from online scams does not flow into Myanmar’s banking system.

Under the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, every country must take responsibility for the parts of the problem related to them. Myanmar continues to rescue trafficked persons from conflict areas and cooperates with embassies and organizations to safely repatriate them. He added that the government will completely demolish and shut down buildings in border areas. He also stressed the need to make collaborative operations on combating money laundering, border security and human trafficking in order to eradicate all the online fraud and gambling network.

The Vice Chairman (1) of the Central Committee and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs also stated that combating online fraud and illegal online gambling is a national priority. He noted that online scam operations emerging along Myanmar’s border areas are part of transnational organized crime networks and also serve as a major source of funding for armed groups operating inside the country. For this reason, Myanmar is taking firm action to eliminate these activities. The attendees also discussed matters on online fraud, gambling and related illegal activities.