The Central Bank of Myanmar issued a notification updating on legal action against illegal foreign-currency transactions, currency fraud and online financial scams, including social-media advertised USDT activity. The update sets out enforcement measures taken with the Ministry of Home Affairs and other law enforcement agencies, including account freezes, account blocks and prosecutions. Investigations into social-media pages advertising USDT trades identified 234 individuals as high risk of loss, leading to the temporary freezing of 687 bank accounts and 287 mobile financial accounts; five offenders have been prosecuted and sentenced under applicable laws, and proceedings continue against the remaining persons. Separate work against illegal foreign-currency trading on social media has so far covered 1,201 pages, with the accounts of 1,342 persons temporarily blocked, and an Action Task Force has been established to pursue cases based on social-media intelligence, complaints and reports from banks and relevant agencies; foreign exchange counters are also being inspected for compliance with the Foreign Currency Management Act and related guidelines, including unlicensed operations. Alongside enforcement, the notification summarised foreign-currency sales via the Online Trading Platform, the interbank market and central bank operations, reporting FY 2024-2025 interbank transactions of USD 1,224.60 million and platform sales of USD 3,472.41 million, CNY 1,634.47 million and THB 16,047.13 million, plus central bank sales of USD 1,703.4 million, CNY 126.53 million and THB 322.00 million. For FY 2025-2026 to 15 January 2026, interbank transactions were USD 1,147.17 million, platform sales were USD 3,092.49 million, CNY 1,074.04 million and THB 10,759.34 million, and central bank sales were USD 1,172.38 million, CNY 288.96 million and THB 669.48 million, with allocations noted for sectors including consumer oil, edible oil, communications, consumer goods and electronics; over USD 3 billion was sold to the electronics sector in each period. The public was warned to refrain from illegal FX trading and online fraud, with actions including account closures and proceedings under Articles 38 and 42 of the Foreign Money Management Act, as well as the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Financial Institutions Act.
Central Bank of Myanmar 2026-01-16
Central Bank of Myanmar freezes 687 bank accounts and 287 mobile financial accounts in crackdown on illegal foreign currency and USDT trading
The Central Bank of Myanmar announced enforcement actions against illegal foreign-currency transactions and online financial scams, including USDT activities, resulting in account freezes, blocks, and prosecutions. Additionally, the bank reported significant foreign-currency sales through various platforms and warned the public against illegal FX trading, citing ongoing legal proceedings under relevant financial laws.