Since the military seized power in Myanmar in a coup on February 1, 2021, the country has plunged into political and humanitarian turmoil. What began as a targeted effort to dismantle democratic institutions has evolved into an all-encompassing crackdown on opposition, civil society, and former members of the civilian government. Among the instruments most effectively wielded by the junta has been the judiciary, particularly through the use of anti-corruption laws. This approach has given rise to a string of high-profile cases that raise serious questions about the integrity of Myanmar’s legal institutions and the true motivations behind these prosecutions.
Corruption has long plagued Myanmar, a country that has oscillated between military and pseudo-civilian rule for decades. Prior to the coup, efforts by the semi-democratic government under Aung San Suu Kyi attempted to improve transparency and reduce graft, although progress was modest and uneven. Institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), established in 2014, were originally intended to serve as non-partisan watchdogs. However, following the coup, these institutions have been repurposed as tools for political expediency.
The Fall of a Global Icon
One of the most controversial and closely watched developments has been the prosecution of Aung San Suu Kyi herself. Once celebrated globally as a symbol of democratic resistance, Suu Kyi was swiftly arrested by the military junta during the 2021 coup and subsequently faced a litany of charges—ranging from incitement and electoral fraud to the misuse of state funds. Of these, the corruption charges have received considerable attention, both for their severity and the opaque legal processes that accompanied them.
In April 2022, a military-controlled court sentenced Suu Kyi to five years in prison for allegedly accepting $600,000 in bribes and 11.4 kilograms of gold from a former Yangon regional chief minister, Phyo Min Thein. The court claimed she took the bribes in exchange for political favors, but the proceedings were widely criticized for lacking transparency and due process. The trial was held behind closed doors, with no public access and restricted legal representation.
These initial charges were only the beginning. In October 2022, Suu Kyi was sentenced to an additional six years in prison after being convicted on two further corruption charges. These were related to alleged abuses in the rental of government-owned land and the construction of a charitable foundation named after her mother. Just two months later, in December, she received a final seven-year sentence, this time for the alleged misuse of state funds to procure a helicopter for official travel purposes.
A Justice System Turned Political Weapon
The total sentence handed down to Suu Kyi reached 33 years by the end of 2022. While some of these sentences were later commuted as part of a broader prisoner amnesty, her prolonged incarceration remains symbolic of the military’s intention to sideline her permanently from politics. International human rights organizations and governments have widely denounced these trials. Human Rights Watch described the charges as “politically motivated” and condemned the junta’s broader efforts to weaponize the law to silence opposition.
It is important to note, however, that corruption prosecutions have not been limited solely to civilian leaders. The junta has also taken steps to address corruption within its own ranks—although critics argue this is part of an internal power consolidation strategy rather than a genuine effort to clean up governance. In October 2023, two prominent generals, Lt. Gen. Moe Myint Tun and Brig. Gen. Yan Naung Soe, were sentenced to life in prison by a military tribunal for accepting millions of dollars in bribes and illegally holding foreign currency. They were reportedly involved in granting import licenses and manipulating exchange rates to favor certain business interests, in exchange for kickbacks.
Selective Enforcement and Internal Cleansing
Similarly, in November 2023, Soe Htut, a former Minister of Home Affairs and member of the State Administration Council (SAC), was sentenced to five years for corruption, including accepting bribes for issuing passports and mismanaging ministry funds. These cases are seen by observers as strategic moves to eliminate rivals within the military hierarchy while bolstering the junta’s image of reform. They are also used to justify continued military dominance under the guise of institutional accountability.
Earlier cases, such as the 2020 sentencing of Daw Lei Lei Maw, the former Chief Minister of Tanintharyi Region, predated the coup but reflected similar dynamics. She was convicted of receiving bribes and manipulating government contracts to benefit her private business interests, and sentenced to 30 years in prison. While this conviction took place during the civilian administration, it highlighted the deep entrenchment of corruption across both military and civilian leadership circles.
What these cases collectively reveal is not merely a pattern of financial misconduct, but a broader political architecture in which corruption charges serve as instruments of control. In Myanmar’s post-coup context, the anti-corruption apparatus has become a double-edged sword: it punishes genuine abuses while simultaneously being wielded to suppress dissent and remove political threats.
Impunity at the Top
Meanwhile, the junta continues to shield high-ranking officers and their families from scrutiny. Reports have emerged suggesting that the children of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the country’s de facto leader, have accumulated vast wealth through preferential access to business deals, real estate, and natural resource concessions—yet none have faced formal investigation. This selective enforcement undermines the credibility of the regime’s stated anti-corruption campaign and exposes its political motivations.
As Myanmar remains in a state of civil conflict and international isolation, these corruption trials serve to illustrate the complex interplay between governance, power, and justice. Far from establishing a rule of law, the junta’s actions reflect an authoritarian approach to legality—one in which justice is not blind, but sharply focused on silencing opposition and maintaining control.
The global community, while vocal in its criticism, remains limited in its capacity to affect change. Sanctions and diplomatic pressure have thus far failed to deter the junta’s consolidation of power. As long as the legal system remains under military control, and as long as corruption charges can be manipulated to serve political ends, the prospects for genuine justice in Myanmar remain bleak.
Sources
- The Irrawaddy, “Two Myanmar Junta Generals at Center of Corruption Scandal Jailed for Life”, Oct 2023
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/two-myanmar-junta-generals-at-center-of-corruption-scandal-jailed-for-life.html - Associated Press, “Myanmar Corruption: Soe Htut Sentenced”, Nov 2023
https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-corruption-soe-htut-d42278dbf6b0e2db0ceb822a39d385e0 - Kompas.com, “Aung San Suu Kyi Dihukum 5 Tahun atas Kasus Korupsi”, Apr 2022
https://go.kompas.com/read/2022/04/27/181312474/myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-sentenced-to-5-years-in-corruption-case - France 24, “Myanmar Junta Court Convicts Aung Suu Kyi of Corruption”, Dec 2022
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20221230-myanmar-junta-court-convicts-aung-suu-kyi-of-corruption-hands-down-7-year-sentence - Human Rights Watch, “Myanmar: Junta Uses Courts to Crush Opposition”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/10/myanmar-junta-uses-courts-crush-opposition
