A trans-Tasman bank's business ties to a military regime facing global criticism for human rights abuses have led to renewed calls for it to withdraw from the country
ANZ Bank is facing further calls to shutter its Myanmar operations, with newly released records showing its transactions with a bank that provides financial support to the military junta.
The Government is also coming under pressure to sanction the Myanmar bank’s parent company, with a campaign group saying it is “inexcusable” for there to be ongoing business.
Records for Myanmar's Innwa Bank, obtained by the non-profit whistleblower website Distributed Denial of Secrets, show ANZ had been used to transfer funds to Innwa Bank accounts between April and September 2021.
The transactions came months after the United States, United Kingdom and European Union imposed sanctions on the Myanmar Economic Corporation, which owns Innwa Bank, due to its role in financially supporting the country’s military regime following its coup in early 2021.
An independent United Nations fact-finding mission previously described Innwa Bank as providing its military owners important access to the international banking system “even when US sanctions remained in place against their parent companies”.
The Australian government is yet to take any sanctions action against the Myanmar regime following the coup. New Zealand’s lack of an autonomous sanctions regime means it is unable to take action outside of the UN Security Council, where Russia and China have vetoed proposed statements expressing concern about the violence in Myanmar.
In April, Radio Free Asia reported Innwa Bank would be among Myanmar financial institutions holding talks with five Russian banks, with some analysts suggesting the junta-linked lenders would be used as “conduits for military purchases of Russian weaponry”.
“Even small transactions can help finance the military’s international crimes and enrich war criminals.” - Yadanar Maung, Justice for Myanmar spokesman
Justice for Myanmar spokesman Yadanar Maung told Newsroom it was inexcusable for ANZ to continue doing business with Innwa Bank, which enabled the Myanmar junta to carry out “terrorist acts against the people of Myanmar”.
ANZ’s transactions were also enabled by the failure of the Australian and New Zealand governments to sanction MEC and its directors, Maung said.
“Innwa Bank supports the Myanmar military, its illegal coup attempt and its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Even small transactions can help finance the military’s international crimes and enrich war criminals.”
The campaign group wanted the Government to impose sanctions against MEC and other organisations tied to the military junta, and for ANZ to either end its relationship with Innwa Bank or exit Myanmar entirely in line with its international human rights responsibilities.
“ANZ's conduct in Myanmar should be of serious concern for its customers and investors,” Maung said.
The revelations have surfaced at a time of worsening crisis in Myanmar, which has been in a state of heightened civil conflict since the Armed Forces (known in Burmese as the 'Tatmadaw') seized power in a coup last year.
Last week, a UN press release stated that the violence was taking a "catastrophic toll" on civilians, including children. Just days before, an apparently deliberate Tatmadaw airstrike on a concert killed dozens of people, drawing wide condemnation from around the globe.
Kasit Piromya, a former Thailand foreign affairs minister and board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, told Newsroom it was "imperative" for businesses to cut the flow of money to the junta and its associated enterprises, and for governments to ensure their banks didn't contribute (however indirectly) to the regime's operation.
“New Zealand, one of the most advanced democracies in the world, was one of the first countries in isolating the military junta after the coup in February last year, that makes all the more disappointing that ANZ is doing business with Innwa Bank, with its well-known links to the military. No democratic country should do business with a criminal junta."
ANZ 'compliant with all applicable laws'
An ANZ spokeswoman told Newsroom the bank was monitoring the situation in Myanmar closely, with its priority being the safety and wellbeing of its staff.
“ANZ complies with all applicable laws in all of the jurisdictions in which it operates, including requirements of supra-national organisations, such as the United Nations and European Union. While we are unable to comment on specific relationships or transactions, ANZ has robust processes in place to ensure all activities undertaken are compliant with the applicable regulations.”
The bank faced criticism in 2021 after declining to join more than 65 multinationals with Myanmar operations who had signed a letter condemning the country’s violence.
ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott told an Australian parliamentary committee the calls for it to sign were “irresponsible”, saying: “For us to write a letter for some PR benefit to make us feel good, I think would put our people in harm’s way, and I would not forgive myself.”
The NZ Super Fund has previously faced criticism for its own shareholdings in companies linked to the Myanmar junta; the fund’s guardians subsequently signed a joint statement with more than 80 other investors and fund managers, calling on companies to “uphold their corporate responsibility to respect human rights by undertaking enhanced due diligence”.
Green Party foreign affairs spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman told Newsroom there was a strong case for the Government to sanction the Myanmar regime’s funding mechanisms, which were more likely to stop the junta’s human rights abuses than mere condemnation.
“I certainly feel strongly that we should not be funding the oppression of the Myanmar people, and that’s exactly what we’re doing if we allow our banks and Super Fund to profit from them.”
A spokeswoman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Newsroom that New Zealand had been clear in its condemnation of the coup in Myanmar, as well as its concerns about human rights violations committed by the regime.
While the Government “would encourage all private companies doing business in Myanmar to consider the reputational risks and their legal obligations”, it had no plans for separate sanctions legislation allowing it to take action against the country.
“Our focus is on the implementation of the Russia sanction legislation, which is a complex and resource-intensive undertaking.”
New Zealand would continue to speak out against the junta, and work with regional and multilateral partners to find a solution.
