Joint letter from Burma civil society organisations to Sec. Bessent and Sec. Rubio calling for US sanctions on Myanma Economic Bank (MEB).
Dear Secretary Rubio and Secretary Bessent:
Since launching its coup d’état in February 2021, the Burmese military has engaged in a campaign of violence against the citizens of Myanmar (Burma) while using its illegitimate control of state resources and institutions to steal from the people and undermine democratic systems at both the national and local levels. This violence has resulted in thousands killed and millions displaced, while also threatening regional stability and security.
The Burmese military junta depends heavily on members of the international community to fund it and supply it with weapons and related materials. Without an external source of weapons and access to the international financial system, the junta would find it more difficult to maintain its war against the people of Burma.
Because of the urgency of this crisis, and for the reasons described below, the undersigned organizations reiterate a longtime request from Burmese civil society that the United States Government act immediately to sanction the Myanma Economic Bank (MEB) and encourage like-minded governments to do the same.
Sanctions programs require frequent updating in order to react to changing realities on the ground, and MEB sanctions are the next step that the United States should take to continue ratcheting up its pressure on the junta, which is now almost entirely reliant on MEB as a key financial lifeline to its transnational support networks.
In June 2023, the U.S. government imposed sanctions against the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB) – which until that point were the military’s primary gateways to the international financial system. These sanctions, in combination with U.S. diplomatic engagement with the Government of Singapore, were highly successful in disrupting the military’s supply chains for several months. A June 2024 report by the
U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, called Banking on the Death Trade, showed that these actions forced the junta to move its supply chains away from Singapore- based networks and financial institutions, and that the junta was no longer able to use MFTB or MICB to pay for weapons imports.
As predicted by Burmese civil society, the military has adjusted to these sanctions in large part because of its continuing access to MEB. The Special Rapporteur’s report demonstrates that the junta is increasingly reliant on Thai companies and banks in order to import weapons and related materials. Domestically, the junta has moved its financial services to MEB. Yet unlike with MFTB and MICB, where the junta had a ready backup in MEB, sanctions on MEB now would leave the junta with no viable banking alternatives under its direct control. The remaining state-owned bank, Myanma Agricultural Development Bank, lacks existing connections to international financial institutions, and the junta does not exert direct control over private sector banks that are also ill- equipped to take over as the bankers for the junta. MEB sanctions would thus leave the military with significantly higher transaction costs in conducting business with its overseas networks, resulting in reduced capability to launch attacks against the people of Burma.
While sanctions on MEB would significantly impact the junta, they are unlikely to have a significant adverse humanitarian impact on the people of Burma. Few non-junta companies or individuals have bank accounts with MEB, and any that might could use private banks instead, so the direct impacts of MEB sanctions on non-junta business would be limited. Aside from its limited use for private commercial trade, MEB is involved in the provision of some civil servant pensions, collection of some taxes and fees (such as port fees), and the repayment of sovereign loans (such as to the International Monetary Fund). None of these would be severely impacted by U.S. sanctions on MEB:
- Civil servant pensions are paid in kyat and would not be impacted by lack of access to international financing;
- Taxes and fees could be paid into escrow accounts or via private banks; and
- The United States could include a general license to allow for the repayment of sovereign debt loans.
Of course, there is no silver bullet – no specific action that the United States or any other government can take – that would guarantee an end to the military coup. However, the U.S. Government has the opportunity to impose MEB sanctions now when the military is at one of its weakest points since the coup began. The U.S. Government could then continue to ratchet up pressure through a holistic economic coercion strategy designed to restrict the military’s access to
international weapons and financial support. Such a strategy could include, for example, increased enforcement of existing sanctions, full sanctions on the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), more comprehensive jet fuel sanctions, enforcement of anti-money laundering statutes, and regular updates to business advisories that reflect the military’s evolving attempts to redirect its networks.
But sanctioning MEB is a key next step. By sanctioning MEB, the U.S. Government could help reduce the military’s ability to conduct air strikes and provide crucial space for the people of Burma to advance their important work of building local democratic institutions and opening channels for humanitarian aid.
Respectfully,
| AFJV |
| Ah Nah – Conversations with Myanmar |
| ALTSEAN-Burma |
| American Baptist Churches of Nebraska |
| Baptist World Alliance / Cooperative Baptist Fellowship |
| Better Burma |
| Blood Money Campaign |
| Burma Action Ireland |
| Burma Advocacy Group |
| Burma Campaign UK |
| Burmese Community Of Bowling Green |
| Campaign for a New Myanmar |
| Chin Association of Maryland |
| Chin Human Rights Organization |
| Crane Center for Mass Atrocity Prevention |
| CRPH Funding Ireland |
| CRPH Ireland |
| CRPH Support Group, Norway |
| EarthRights International |
| Educational Initiatives Prague |
| ETOs Watch Coalition |
| Friends Against Dictatorship (FAD) |
| Global Hope Myanmar |
| Insight Myanmar |
| Integria, z.u. (Czech Republic) |
| International Association, Myanmar, -Switzerland (IAMS) |
| International Campaign for the Rohingya |
| Jubilee Campaign |
| Myanmar Action Group Denmark |
| Myanmar Campaign Network |
| Never Again Coalition |
| No Business With Genocide |
| Peace and Justice Committee |
| Rohingya Action Ireland |
| Spirit in Education Movement |
| The Center for Justice and Accountability |
| The Mekong Butterfly |
| U.S. Campaign for Burma |
| United States Chin Coalition |
| United Zo Organization. Inc, KY |
| US Advocacy Coalition for Myanmar |