BANGKOK — The latest U.S. sanctions on Myanmar target an army-controlled gems business rife with corruption and abuses that is one of the junta’s key sources of revenue.
It’s unclear if the sanctions will do much to close the taps of income and royalties from gems sales. Some estimates say more than half of such transactions are not declared, even though it is the country’s second biggest export after natural gas and oil.
The rights group Justice for Myanmar on Friday urged the U.S. government to expand penalties to include the Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise, which handles the country’s largest share of exports.
“It is imperative that other countries follow suit in sanctioning the key businesses enabling the Myanmar military’s criminal conduct,” said the group’s spokesperson, Yadanar Maung.
The most recent report from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative for…
