A/HRC/42/CRP.3 78. The links between domestic companies and MEHL, MEC and its subsidiaries are also reportedly familial. Ne Aung, the founder and chairperson of IGE Group, is reportedly the brother of Rear Admiral Moe Aung, the Chief of Staff of the Myanmar Navy and director of MEHL, MEC Ltd and some of their subsidiaries. IGE Group is a major conglomerate operating across various sectors including forestry, agriculture, construction and energy. IGE Group is also involved in Mytel, the MEC telecommunications joint venture and Myanmar’s fourth largest telecommunications network service provider.167 79. There are also serious allegations of crony companies concealing the wealth of the Tatmadaw and its leadership. These allegations require further investigation. The Mission notes however that the Managing Director of Asia World Group, Steven Law (also known as Htun Myint Naing), has been accused by the U.S. Government of involvement in laundering money for the Tatmadaw.168 Asia World has three “overseas branch companies” in Singapore, run by Steven Law169 and his spouse Cecilia Ng, a Singaporean national. More than half of Singapore’s investment in Myanmar reportedly goes through partnerships with Asia World Group, totalling more than USD 1.3 billion.170 IV. Tatmadaw and the extractive industry 80. Tatmadaw economic activity in some sectors is linked to its military strategy. This is particularly evident in the Tatmadaw’s involvement in jade and ruby mining in Kachin and Shan States, where its economic interests overlap with its military objectives. The Tatmadaw’s “Four Cuts” counterinsurgency policy, in place since the 1960s, is aimed at cutting off non-State armed groups from access to food, finances, intelligence and recruits from the local civilian population.171 The policy is consistent with the Tatmadaw “clearance operations”, which include scorched earth campaigns in which large numbers of civilians are killed and entire villages are destroyed, leading to mass displacement.172 In natural resourcerich Kachin, Shan and Rakhine States, policies consistent with the “Four Cuts” strategy, aiming to gain control of resources while cutting-off resources and revenue to armed groups, have also been implemented through business activities in the extractive industries, which generate revenue for the Tatmadaw. 81. As previously reported by the Mission, many violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law have been committed within the context of the exploitation of natural resources or development projects by parties to the armed conflicts, 167 168 169 170 171 172 19_1.pdf), pg. 72. The Mission has identified 47 companies in which Aung Ko Win, the owner of the KBZ Group, serves as an officer, and another 23 companies in which his wife, Daw Nang Than Htwe, serves as an officer. The corporate records are on file with the Mission. See Annex IV. List of donors and details of donations solicited by the Tatmadaw in September 2017. Earthrights International 2011. “The Burma-China Pipelines: Human rights Violations, Applicable Law, and Revenue Secrecy.” March, p. 4; and U.S. Department of Treasury, Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, 25 February 2011 (http://www.treasury.gov/ofac/ downloads/t11sdn.pdf). Aung Min and Toshihiro Kudo, “Business Conglomerates in the Context of Myanmar’s Economic Reforms,” p. 147. Steven Law is the son of Lo-Hsing Han. He and his father were previously sanctioned by the US. He is the director of Asia World Group, which would own 5 per cent of the controversial Myitsone Dam with 80 per cent being held by the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) of Yunnan and 15 per cent by Myanmar’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE). Aung Min and Toshihiro Kudo, “Business Conglomerates in the Context of Myanmar’s Economic Reforms,” p. 147; “Thiha Ko Ko, “Singapore tops list of foreign direct investors,” The Myanmar Times, 28 March 2019 (https://www.mmtimes.com/news/singapore-tops-list-foreign-directinvestors.html). For more information see, A/HRC/39/CRP.2, paragraph 1367; XM-009, XM-010; Maung Aung Myoe, Building the Tatmadaw: Myanmar Armed Forces since 1948 (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2009); Andrew Selth, Burma’s Armed Forces: Power Without Glory (EastBridge, 2002). XM-010, XM-009, XM-012; also, International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, Legal Memorandum: War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Eastern Myanmar (2014). International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, “Preventing Indiscriminate Attacks and Wilful Killings of Civilians by the Myanmar Military” (2014). 29