Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) has told banks in Myanmar it will cut ties with them on September 1 – a move that “could significantly restrict the military regime’s access to the global financial system”, according to a report by Nikkei on Wednesday, which comes just days after United Nations investigators said that war crimes committed by Myanmar’s military, such as the bombing and burning of civilian homes and buildings, had become “increasingly frequent and brazen”.
UOB, which is “the offshore bank of choice for Myanmar’s generals”, big companies and cronies, warned Myanmar banks last week that it would restrict all incoming and outgoing payments to and from Myanmar accounts, as well as put curbs on Visa and MasterCard transactions, and close Myanmar banks ‘nostro’ accounts at its Hong Kong branch, the report said, adding that the “unprecedented” move followed US pressure to stop funding the military regime and growing concern about the risk to it – and Singapore’s – reputation, after UN Rapporteur Tom Andrews revealed recently that Singapore was a key hub for arms deals for the despised military regime.
Financial experts have said the impact of the decision could be huge, it said.
Read the full report: Nikkei Asia.
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