Under sanctions, protected by the Barack Obama administration and living the great life in Singapore, this is only part of the story behind one of the Myanmar tycoons who found refuge in Singapore.
Tay Za lives in a three-story villa on Sentosa Island, and this is one of the two houses his family owns in Singapore, and the area is known as a playground for the wealthy.
Ferrari Spider and duffel bags stuffed with cash on trips to Marina Bay Sands casino is also part of the calm life the tycoons are living.
But how did they find their way into Singapore despite the sanctions that hang over their heads? We all know that people who are facing sanctions are not supposed to fly around freely or enter countries that are ‘friendly’ to the USA or the UK (the countries that generally impose sanctions against businessmen and politicians). But they have free access to Singapore.
In 2021, the UK government on Thursday announced new sanctions against Myanmar tycoon Tay Za and his businesses.
The reason was that his company was providing arms and financial support to the military junta in Myanmar.
Tay Za is associated with the military through his extensive links with the former and current junta regimes, says the UK foreign office.
It also says the latter has provided support for serious human rights violations in his role in assisting the military to procure arms.
When someone is under such sanctions, their assets are frozen, and they have no way to liquidate them, use them or access funds linked to these assets.
Nevertheless, the tycoons are walking around freely in Singapore with cash loaded in their pockets.
Bloomberg, in a lengthy article exposing the fabulous lifestyle of the wanted tycoons in Singapore, says Singapore has long been a haven for sanctioned Myanmar businessmen, including Tay Za.
Despite the initial US-imposed sanctions in 2007, he has continued to be able to live and work in Singapore. He has established about 10 businesses with operations in the aviation, teak, and palm oil industries in Singapore.
The US imposed sanctions on him and other regime supporters in 2016, following free and fair elections in Myanmar, and they were reimposed earlier this year after Aung San Suu Kyi was forcibly ousted from power in a coup in February 2021.
Bloomberg also says most Asian countries, including Singapore, don’t support the sanctions.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said they would only hurt the people of Myanmar and have pushed that country closer to China, and officials in Singapore have called the sanctions against the tycoons ‘a tragedy’.
But intense pressure from the U.S. is now forcing Singapore to take a fresh stance in the Myanmar debacle.
The U.S. pressures are forcing international financial regulators to consider placing Myanmar on a blacklist.
Singapore will have to follow suit, says the news agency, adding that the city-state is already abandoning its stance against meddling in the domestic affairs of its neighbours and has recently denounced the military regime for its violations.
It has also urged banks to examine Myanmar’s financial flows more closely and stopped approving the transfer of any equipment that could be used to harm unarmed civilians.
However, sanctioned arms dealers—including Tay Za, who has refuted the accusations—remain openly engaged in other commercial activities in the city-state.
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The post Tycoons from Myanmar who are under sanctions find refuge in Singapore appeared first on The Independent World News.