A new battle is unfolding in South-East Asia — not on the front lines but in the digital shadows. Since a military takeover in February 2021, Myanmar has become a hotspot for cyber scams — sprawling criminal operations that have stolen billions from unsuspecting victims around the world. Now, the junta, long accused of benefiting from these illicit schemes, says that it’s cracking down on scamsters and claiming a big win against cybercrime. However, scepticism abounds: Is this crackdown the real deal or just another move in a complex game of power and control?

On 21st October, Myanmar’s junta raided one of the country’s most infamous cyber-scam centres near the Thailand border. More than 2,000 were arrested, including 445 women. Their nationalities were not immediately known. The State-ow

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