Foreign banks cashing in on Myanmar’s brief economic liberalisation are facing new compliance headaches after fresh sanctions were imposed on the military junta, with the sector put on notice over further sanctions targeting the country’s energy and commodities sectors.
The US and UK announced co-ordinated sanctions in late March against the military holding companies Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (MEC), which the two governments said were enmeshed in broad sectors of the economy including mining, trade, banking, logistics, agriculture and manufacturing.
Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on February 1, claiming irregularities in a January election in which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy secured an overwhelming victory. The military ruled the country between 1962 and 2011, freeing Suu Kyi from 15 years of house arrest in 2010.