Irrawaddy-Oct 25
The junta has filed lawsuits against 16 executives from nine edible-oil importers under non-bailable charges for allegedly selling cooking oil at prices higher than the reference rate set by the regime. The lawsuits were filed on Tuesday and cited the Essential Supplies and Services Law and Section 409 of Penal Code, saying the 16 suspects were charged with criminal breach of trust, sources said. The prosecutions came after some of the executives were detained and questioned in Naypyitaw in connection with former junta’s trade chief—former Lt-General Moe Myint Tun—who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 20 years behind bars. The lawsuits were filed by the junta’s Bureau of Special Investigation. A source in Naypyitaw told The Irrawaddy: “I heard [the executives] will be told to compensate [for overcharging] and will also be imprisoned.” The Essential Supplies and Services Law also prescribes six months to three years in prison plus a fine of no more than 500,000 kyats (around US$ 238 at the official exchange rate of 2,100 kyats per dollar) for price gouging and hoarding for the purpose of price gouging. The regime sold US dollars to edible-oil importers at the official rate of 2,100 kyats per greenback, and instructed them to sell them at its kyat reference rate. The currency market rate has been unstable, but the average has been around 3,500 kyats per dollar since last year. Merchants, including palm-oil importers, had to bribe Moe Myint Tun and his assistant, former Brigadier-General Yan Naung Soe, to acquire US dollars at the rate of 2,100 kyats and permits for edible oil imports. Read more at:
