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Examination of ANZ and UOB’s dealings with the bank of Myanmar military

Examination of ANZ and UOB’s dealings with the bank of Myanmar military

Examination of ANZ and UOB’s dealings with the bank of Myanmar military

Examination of ANZ and UOB’s dealings with the bank of Myanmar military

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  • Myanmar’s major banks keep doing business with a bank run by the military government.
  • It is despite its brutal assault on anti-coup rallies.
  • ANZ transferred money to Innwa Bank accounts.
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According to an advocacy organization and leaked papers, major banks, including Australia’s ANZ, have kept doing business with a bank run by Myanmar’s military government despite its brutal assault on anti-coup rallies.

According to Justice for Myanmar, which used leaked bank records, the Hong Kong-based insurer AIA used ANZ, one of Australia’s “big four” banks, to transfer money to Innwa Bank, which is owned by the military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), in August and September 2021.

According to a report from the activist organization issued on Wednesday, Malaysian company edotco, which rents towers to Myanmar mobile operator Mytel, also utilized ANZ to conduct transactions with Innwa Bank accounts between April and June 2021.

In June and July of last year, a Chinese shipping company and MEC transacted business thanks to Singapore’s UOB, one of Southeast Asia’s largest banks.

The transactions involving the company’s management and Lamintayar, a provider of powdered milk with operations in Myanmar, also involved the Singaporean lender.

According to Justice for Myanmar, BIDV, a lender that is jointly held by the State Bank of Vietnam and KEB Hana Bank of South Korea, conducted at least 18 transactions with Telecom International Myanmar, a company that is partially owned by MEC.

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Distributed Denial of Secrets, a self-described transparency group that frequently publishes material stolen from organizations and governments, received the leaked Innwa Bank records and posted them online.

A UOB representative stated that the bank could not comment on specific client relationships but that it would, when appropriate, conduct “increased due diligence on customer connections and transactions involving Myanmar.”

The official told Al Jazeera, “We are closely monitoring the situation and, at the same time, guaranteeing conformity with local and international rules and regulations.”

“We will make sure that flows of funds for humanitarian aid, lawful non-profit organization activities, and remittances are not interrupted when applying additional due diligence processes,” the statement reads.

According to an ANZ representative cited by Justice for Myanmar, the bank was keeping an eye on the situation in Myanmar and operated in compliance with all legal requirements.

According to the activist group, the representative stated that “ANZ must comply with all applicable laws in all of the jurisdictions in which it operates, including those of supra-national organizations, such as the United Nations and European Union.”

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According to a 2019 independent fact-finding mission by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Innwa Bank has been crucial in allowing Myanmar’s military-owned enterprises to keep access to the international financial system despite US sanctions.

Leading economies like Australia, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea have not taken action against the company whereas the EU, UK, and US have sanctioned MEC over the military coup of 2021.

“A lack of governments to take a coordinated approach to isolating military corporations and eliminating the junta’s sources of funding,” Justice for Myanmar claimed of the international banks’ dealings with Innwa Bank.

The advocacy organization stated that banks “must immediately forbid transactions with Myanmar military banks, or risk cooperation in the junta’s international crimes.”

Activists claim that since toppling Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in February 2021, Myanmar’s military regime has killed more than 2,400 civilians.

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