Global banks facilitate procurement of deadly weapons by Myanmar junta: UN Report

New Delhi, June 27: UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has revealed in a recent report that: financial institutions across seven countries have processed transactions linked to Myanmar’s military junta, facilitating its procurement of weapons and supplies. Andrews identified 16 banks involved in these transactions, alongside 25 others providing correspondent services to Myanmar’s state-owned banks under junta control.

“Financial institutions must uphold their human rights obligations and refrain from enabling the junta’s deadly transactions,” Andrews emphasised, noting the critical moment as international pressure mounts against the regime.

Despite a decrease in the junta’s formal banking transactions for military procurement—from $377 million to $253 million up to March 2023—Andrews cautioned that the regime exploits loopholes, shifting financial channels and leveraging weak coordination among member states to circumvent sanctions.

While praising Singapore’s crackdown on weapons flows to Myanmar, resulting in a 90% reduction from Singapore-registered entities, Andrews highlighted a troubling surge in military procurement through Thailand, totaling nearly $130 million from Thai suppliers in the year ending March 2024—more than double the previous year’s total.

Andrews urged Thailand to follow Singapore’s lead in disrupting the junta’s supply chain, pointing out Siam Commercial Bank’s significant role in facilitating transactions for Myanmar’s military. He stressed the urgent need for coordinated international action to curb the junta’s escalating attacks on civilians, which have seen a five-fold increase in military airstrikes in recent months.

Since the February 2021 coup, Myanmar has witnessed over 5,000 civilian deaths, the displacement of at least three million people, and the incarceration of over 20,000 political prisoners. Andrews concluded with a call for robust international cooperation to halt the junta’s atrocities and restore democracy in Myanmar.