Chinese courts crack down on telecom fraud linked to northern Myanmar

By the end of 2025, Chinese courts had concluded over 27,000 first-instance telecom fraud cases linked to northern Myanmar, sentencing more than 41,000 individuals, as announced by the Supreme People's Court on Thursday.

Two high-profile cases involving notorious family-operated syndicates in northern Myanmar have completed all judicial procedures. During these proceedings, 39 criminals received sentences of life imprisonment or harsher penalties, with 16 of them being sentenced to death, according to the SPC, China's top court.

"The dismantling of these two major transnational armed criminal groups marks a significant blow to the audacity of criminals both domestically and internationally," Wang Bin, chief judge of the SPC's Third Criminal Division, told a news conference.

He emphasized the commitment of Chinese courts to severely punish those involved in telecom fraud to curb the high incidence of such crimes. "Ringleaders and key members of cross-border telecom fraud groups, as well as individuals involved in violent crimes like intentional homicide, intentional injury, and kidnapping, will face stringent measures," he added.

According to data from the SPC, from 2021 to 2025, courts across China concluded over 159,000 first-instance criminal cases related to telecom fraud, leading to the sentencing of approximately 338,000 defendants.