Myanmar sanctions

The Financial Action Task Force said the move was a result of the country's persistent failures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Aung Moe Myint and his Dynasty International company are accused of procuring Russian-made arms from Belarus for the military.

Nikkei Asia is reporting that the Financial Action Task Force is likely to add the military-ruled nation to its "call for action" list at a meeting next month.

Its Commerce Ministry claims that the state earned $819 million from gas exports from April to July, mostly to Thailand and China.

Given its financial ties to Myanmar, Singapore's cooperation is vital if the world is to choke off the military junta's revenue streams.

According to the environmental advocacy group Forest Trends, much more can be done to strangle the junta's access to natural resource revenues.

Whether or not direct military aid would help, Western governments should recognize that there is no going back to the status quo ante.

The coordinated move follows a series of recent convictions against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Bank estimates that Myanmar's economy is 30 percent smaller than it would have been were it not for the coup and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move could suggest the impending imposition of economic sanctions on the country's state oil and gas enterprise.

The shift is a major breakthrough for activists seeking to strangle the military government's main source of revenue.