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NAYPYIDAW, KOMPAS.com – Mining, banking, energy, agriculture or even tourism, the Myanmar army or the Tatmadaw tirelessly accumulate wealth through their trading networks.
But now, this wealth has become the target of a US economic embargo following the coup against Myanmar’s civilian government on February 1.
On Thursday (11/2/2021), President Joe Biden froze the Tatmadaw’s assets worth US $ 1 billion in the United States. Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry blocked US assets or transactions with 10 top military officials believed to be the masterminds of the coup.
Also read: Biden threatens to freeze the assets of Myanmar generals who staged a coup
However, Myanmar’s military junta is believed to still be able to access its wealth reserves through networks of conglomerates at home and abroad, the anti-corruption group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) reported.
Through two business groups, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), the generals control or supervise at least 133 companies, according to JFM records.
The two groups oversee a variety of business units, from beer producers, tobacco plantations, transportation and logistics, textile factories, hotels or banks. The military is also believed to be involved in the illicit gemstone trade.
The two most prominent raw materials were jade and rubies. Myanmar is the largest jade producer in the world.
The trade in the two gemstones is estimated to amount to billions of US dollars each year. However, only a small proportion of the transactions are officially registered. The rest are believed to have been smuggled into China.
Also read: Protesters shot in the head during the demonstration in Myanmar, these are collected facts
Corruption through corporations
China, Europe and Thailand are the main export destinations of Myanmar.
According to the NGO Global Witness, since 2001 Myanmar’s jade industry has been “under the control of a network of elite military personnel, drug traffickers and their cronies.”
Currently, the company that has the largest jade mining permit is Myanmar Imperial Jade Co Ltd, which is under MEHL.
On Thursday (11/2/2021) the company was included in the United States economic sanctions list.
MEHL maintains business relationships with companies in China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. According to government records, MEHL’s board of directors and shareholders are mostly retired generals or active officers.
Between 1990 and 2011, MEHL was found to have paid out dividends worth US $ 18 billion to shareholders, according to the September 2020 Amnesty International report.
In 2011 alone, it was noted that the head of the board, General Min Aung Hlaing, received at least 250,000 US dollars or around 3,500 crore in profit.
For nearly half a century in power, “military leaders have had a long time to enrich themselves,” said Francoise Nicolas, director of the Institute for International Relations Asia, a French think tank.
Also read: Seconds of the Myanmar police who come back to support the protesters against the coup
The process of democratization and restoration of civil power in 2011 did not really disturb the Tatmadaw business empire, Amnesty reports.
But the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi, who won more than 80 percent of the vote in the November general elections, shook the military government, Francoise said.
“This victory threatens some of his wealth and may have informed the decision to strike.”
After the coup, the army reportedly strengthened its control over state companies, including the oil and gas sector, which is considered wetlands.
Stop foreign investment
This puts foreign companies in a difficult situation. But so far only Japanese beer company Kirin and Singaporean energy company Puma have declared their departure from Myanmar after the coup.
Meanwhile, French oil giant Total, which owns 31.24 percent of the Yadana gas field in Myanmar, said it was still studying the effects of the coup. In 2019, Total paid US $ 257 million to the government of Myanmar.
“We urge oil and gas companies to end their relations with Myanmar oil and gas companies and leave our country,” said Yadanar Maung, spokesman for Justice for Myanmar.
The same was expressed by Debbie Stothard of the human rights organization, Federation for Human Rights. Especially Singapore, as Myanmar’s largest investor, “has high bargaining value” to double the international pressure on the military junta.
“Various Tatmadaw officials have invested heavily in Singapore since the mid-2000s. This trend has been strengthening in recent years,” he said.
If the military really does intend to protect its wealth through a coup, then ending trade relations with Myanmar is even more urgent, Yadanar Maungh said.
“Without decisive measures, the military will continue to commit acts of violence against the people and democracy will have no hope.”
Also read: Suu Kyi’s party headquarters ransacked by Myanmar army, money in safe disappears
Source: (DW Indonesia / RZN / HP adapted by Aditya Jaya Iswara)
