£170,000 of Sonali Bank in Myanmar banks frozen after US sanctions

The managing director of Sonali Bank Afzal Karim revealed that Sonali Bank’s £170,000 has been frozen in accounts held by two Myanmar banks due to the imposed US sanctions.

The US also asked the Sonali Bank to halt transactions with the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank, Afzal Karim said on Wednesday.

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According to Afzal, the two Myanmar banks have a staggering £1.1 million in their Sonali Bank accounts. Furthermore, these funds are currently frozen and will continue to be inaccessible.

We have notified the Bangladesh Bank regarding the issue. The fate of what lies ahead now rests in the hands of the central bank.

The Bangladesh Bank spokesman, Mezbaul Haque, mentioned that the central bank will decide after reviewing a letter from the US Embassy in Dhaka.

In June, the US imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s defense ministry and the two banks used by the ruling military junta to buy weapons and goods from other countries.

The US Treasury Department stated that the military has used foreign sources, including Russian entities that are under sanctions, to buy and bring in weapons, equipment, and materials for making weapons to support its “brutal repression”.

According to the Treasury, the banks have enabled revenue-generating state-owned enterprises, such as Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, to have access to the international markets.

Source: Bdnews24