Before coup, IMF sent Myanmar US$350m aid
Reuters, WASHINGTON
The IMF last week sent US$350 million in cash to the Burmese government, part of a no-strings-attached emergency aid package to help it battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Days later, Burmese military leaders seized power and detained Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected officials, in what the US Department of State on Tuesday said constituted a coup.
There appears to be little the IMF can do to claw back the funds, part of rapid-disbursing COVID-19 financing programs with almost no conditions and approved by the IMF board on Jan. 13, sources familiar with the payments and international finance experts said.