Thai banks have become the primary source for the Myanmar military to purchase weapons and military supplies, including parts for helicopter gunships, supporting its three-year civil war that has killed more than 5,000 civilians, according to a United Nations-backed report released Wednesday.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Tom Andrews said in the report that since seizing power in a coup in February 2021, the Myanmar military has relied on international banks to carry out its systematic assault on its people. “The junta, or State Administration Council (SAC), is counting on two primary resources from abroad: weapons and money,” Andrews said.
The report, “Banking on the Death Trade: How Banks and Governments Enable the Military Junta in Myanmar,” found that 16 banks in seven countries have processed transactions linked to the military’s procurement in the past year. Weapons, dual-use technologies, manufacturing equipment, and raw materials secured by the junta from abroad totaled $253 million between April 2023 and March 2024.
“By relying on financial institutions that are willing to do business with Myanmar state-owned banks under its control, the junta has ready access to the financial services it needs to carry out systematic human rights violations, including aerial attacks on civilians,” Andrews said.
The junta has faced significant losses of territory and troops in recent months as it fights ethnic armed groups and people’s resistance forces. It has responded by increasing airstrikes and attacks on civilians and infrastructure, displacing more than 3 million people.
Western nations have imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Myanmar’s military leaders, family members, state-owned companies, banks, and jet fuel suppliers in response to the violence. “The good news is that the junta is increasingly isolated,” Andrews said. “The bad news is that the junta is circumventing sanctions and other measures by exploiting gaps in sanctions regimes, shifting financial institutions, and taking advantage of the failure of Member States to fully coordinate and enforce actions.”
The report highlights Siam Commercial Bank as playing a “crucial role” in the shift, facilitating just over $5 million in military-related transactions in 2022, which ballooned to more than $100 million in 2023. CNN has reached out to Siam Commercial Bank for comment but has not received a response.
A spokesperson for Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “We have seen the report and are looking into it. Our banking and financial institutions follow banking protocols as any major financial hub. So we will have to first establish the facts before considering any further steps.”
Andrews emphasized the importance of financial institutions taking their human rights obligations seriously and not facilitating the junta’s deadly transactions. He added that sanctioning networks supplying jet fuel to the junta and Myanma Economic Bank “could play a decisive role in helping to turn the tide in Myanmar and saving untold numbers of lives.”
