Think tank says Myanmar military uses anti-money laundering gloss to mask predatory economy

Mizzima

Myanmar’s quasi-civilian junta is using global anti-money laundering standards as a weapon to crush political opponents and force businesses into state-controlled banks rather than to fight financial crime, a Singapore-based think tank reported Monday.

The junta has aggressively ramped up enforcement under the guise of international compliance to target pro-democracy activists, freeze non-profit accounts, and dismantle informal cash-transfer networks that millions of citizens rely on for survival, according to an analysis by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

The report, authored by Myanmar expert Jared Bissinger, details how the regime has twisted a 2022 warning by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the global financial watchdog that placed Myanmar on its “Jurisdiction of Concern” list – to serve its own economic and political survival.

While the regime has technically met several FATF requirements to lower its deficiencies from eight to four, the report argues these bureaucratic steps mask a predatory economic strategy.

By enforcing strict compliance, the junta is attempting to force foreign currency into state banks where it mandates unfavourable, multi-tiered exchange rates. For instance, the official rate is set at 2,100 kyat per U.S. dollar, while migrant workers are offered 3,975 kyat.

Exporters are also forced to convert 15 percent of their earnings at the lower official rate, effectively securing cheap foreign reserves for the military.

To stop citizens from bypassing these losses, authorities have launched a massive crackdown on “Hundis”—the traditional, unregulated money transfer systems. The junta revoked 194 money changer licenses between January 2023 and August 2024 and formed a specialized task force to hunt down brokers.

The report notes this marks a drastic shift from 2008, when a previous military government openly acknowledged that hundis served legitimate purposes in a country lacking banking infrastructure. Bissinger found no evidence that hundi use in illicit activities, like drug trafficking or online scam centres, has increased enough to justify the current crackdown.

Furthermore, the junta has explicitly used counterterrorism financing laws to prosecute dissidents. The report highlights the 2022 execution of veteran pro-democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, known as Ko Jimmy, who was convicted of exchanging U.S. dollars to fund “terrorist activities.”

The regime has since slapped terrorist designations on the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) and prominent ethnic armed organizations like the Arakan Army (AA) and Karen National Union (KNU), triggering severe financial reporting and asset-seizure mechanisms against anyone associating with them.

Non-profit organizations face similar financial surveillance. A 2025 military data-collection survey sparked widespread fears of espionage, following high-profile actions like the freezing of the International Labour Organization’s bank accounts shortly after the 2021 coup.

The report concludes that the FATF must urgently change its approach toward Myanmar. It urges the global watchdog to look past the junta’s technical compliance and recognize that targeting informal networks destroys vital humanitarian lifelines. In conflict-torn areas with no functioning banks, hundis remain the only way for citizens to receive life-saving remittances.