Published : 16 Aug 2023, 10:13 PM
Updated : 16 Aug 2023, 10:13 PM
Sonali Bank has its £170,000 frozen in accounts in two Myanmar banks because of US sanctions, according to the managing director.
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.
The two Myanmar banks have £1.1 million in their Sonali Bank accounts and the funds will also remain frozen, Afzal said.
“We’ve informed the Bangladesh Bank about the matter. Now the central bank will decide what will happen.”
Bangladesh Bank spokesman Mezbaul Haque said the central bank would make a decision after reviewing a letter on the matter from the US Embassy in Dhaka.
The United States imposed the sanctions in June on Myanmar's defence ministry and the two banks used by the ruling military junta to buy arms and other goods from foreign sources.
The US Treasury Department said the military has relied on foreign sources, including Russian entities under sanctions, to purchase and import arms, equipment and raw materials to manufacture weapons to support its "brutal repression".
The Treasury said the banks allowed revenue-generating state-owned enterprises, including Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, access to international markets.
