Bermuda and Cayman Islands must take action against oil companies for suspected Myanmar sanctions breaches after JFM legal submission

Oil companies based in British Overseas Territories have earned hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues for the illegal Myanmar junta since the military’s 2021 attempted coup, in suspected violation of UK sanctions.

These include two joint ventures between the junta-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and the Thai energy giant PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) that are still operating in British Overseas Territories, 18 months after Justice For Myanmar alerted authorities.

MOGE is the single biggest source of foreign revenue for the Myanmar junta, funding the aviation fuel and weapons it needs to wage an ongoing campaign of war crimes against the people.

Bermuda and Cayman Islands authorities must fully enforce UK sanctions by investigating these oil companies, holding them to account for violations and ending junta business in their territories.

Justice For Myanmar made legal submissions to the Cayman Islands and Bermuda governments in April 2024, detailing the suspected breaches of UK Myanmar (Sanctions) Regulations 2021 (the UK Regulations), which are covered by the Myanmar (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2021.

Justice For Myanmar reported the following companies, which extract and transport gas from some of Myanmar’s largest and most lucrative offshore fields, for suspected sanctions violations: