Starlink used by Myanmar scam centres, leader says

Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing said Starlink was among the tools used by the country's online scam industry, naming Elon Musk's satellite internet firm in a speech to parliament on Friday.

Min Aung Hlaing said his government considered online fraud and online gambling serious crimes and would not tolerate them. He claimed foreigners were mostly responsible and said communications equipment including Starlink had been imported illegally by foreign nationals.

The remarks came in his first major speech to parliament since becoming civilian president in April. Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 coup that removed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered an ongoing civil war.

Fraud centres have expanded in Myanmar's border regions since the war began, often using workers trafficked from abroad. AFP reported last year that the use of Starlink devices had grown in the scam industry.

Myanmar's military-backed parliament approved a law this week authorising capital punishment for people who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centres.

A UN report issued this month said law enforcement actions in the region had displaced and dispersed scam networks rather than dismantled them. Starlink said in October last year that it had cut services to more than 2,500 internet devices at Myanmar scam centres.