US Sanctions Myanmar Defense Ministry Over Russian Weapons

Myanmar’s Defense Ministry and two banks that provide currency exchange services to the country’s military junta have been added to a sanctions blacklist, according to the US Treasury Department.

The sanctions, announced Wednesday, are linked to the Myanmar military’s purchase of weapons from foreign sellers “including sanctioned Russian entities,” according to a Treasury Department press release.

“Since the coup, the Defense Ministry has continued to import at least $1 billion worth of goods and materiel, including from sanctioned entities in Russia,” it says.

“These imports have provided Russia with income and access to military equipment that have facilitated the continued brutality inflicted on the people of Burma by the military.”

The listings prohibit US citizens or companies from doing business with the three Myanmar entities, which include the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and the Myanma Commercial and Investment Bank.

Both banks are accused of “facilitating the regime’s use of hard currency to acquire weapons,” says a statement from the State Department, criticizing them for providing “hard currency to Russia’s defense sector.”

“These banks also allow Myanmar’s revenue-generating state-owned enterprises to easily access international markets using the banks’ offshore accounts, providing significant financial resources for the regime to exploit for military purposes,” the statement said.

The Treasury Department press release says the banks allow Myanmar’s military junta to weaponize natural resources.

“They function mainly as foreign currency exchange houses and allow the conversion of kyats to US dollars and euros and vice versa,” he says.

“This conversion enables Myanmar’s revenue-generating state-owned enterprises, including the Myanmar Oil and Gas Corporation (MOGE), to access international markets using offshore accounts and more easily transact with foreign entities,” the statement said. press.

Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 and has since been embroiled in a civil war mainly against the democratically elected government it ousted, but also against the country’s many ethnic militias.

Edited by Malcolm Foster.