Army Chiefs: Treasury Department and Leaders Access

army chiefs: President Joe Biden said his administration was cutting off military leaders' access to 1 billion in funds in the U.S., while the Treasury Department blocked any U.S. assets and transactions with 10 current or former military officials held responsible for the Feb. 1 coup, according to The Japan Times. But experts believe the army chiefs still have access to enormous wealth from the sprawling conglomerates behind them. After last week's coup to oust civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the subsequent protest crackdown calls have grown for international penalties. ; On Thursday, the United States slapped sanctions on the country's top brass. Through two highly secretive military-controlled behemoths Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited MEHL and the Myanmar Economic Corporation MEC at least 133 companies in the country are wholly or partially overseen by generals, according to a report by Justice For Myanmar JFM . The opaque groups have their tentacles in industries as diverse as beer, tobacco, transportation, textiles, tourism and banking. Although Myanmar is the world's largest producer of jade, and the trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars a year, only a very small part of the financial windfall ends up in state coffers with most high-quality stones believed to be smuggled over the border into China. Much of the lucrative and largely unregulated jade and ruby trade is controlled by military-owned businesses. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.