A/HRC/42/CRP.3 5. The Tatmadaw’s economic interests enable its conduct. The Mission investigated five areas of economic interest: (a) the Tatmadaw’s principal conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), the subsidiaries owned or controlled by them, the Tatmadaw’s role in State-owned enterprises and the Tatmadaw’s close ties with a subset of domestic private business enterprises, known as “crony companies”; (b) the Tatmadaw’s economic interests in the continuing armed conflicts in Kachin and Shan States in northern Myanmar; (c) companies and organizations that provided Tatmadaw-solicited donations in support of the military’s “clearance operations” that began in August 2017 against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine, as well as businesses that have carried out infrastructure development projects in northern Rakhine State; (d) the Tatmadaw’s joint ventures and other commercial relationships with foreign companies; and (e) companies and States selling or transferring arms and related equipment to the Tatmadaw since October 2016. 6. This report does not provide an exhaustive list of all businesses, individuals and States that provide economic benefit to the Tatmadaw and its senior generals. That was not possible in the time and with the resources available to the Mission. However, it provides an overview and a foundation upon which other investigators and researchers can continue to build. The findings described below are supported with information listed in the annexes to this report. Based on its investigations, the Mission has concluded on reasonable grounds that: (a) Two Tatmadaw conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), are owned and influenced by senior Tatmadaw leaders, including the Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and the Deputy Commander-in-Chief Vice Senior General Soe Win, responsible for gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law. The Mission identified 106 MEHL and MEC owned businesses across diverse sectors of the economy – from construction and gem extraction to manufacturing, insurance, tourism and banking, and a further 27 businesses that are closely affiliated with the MEHL and MEC through corporate structures. The revenue that these military businesses generate strengthens the Tatmadaw’s autonomy from elected civilian oversight and provides financial support for the Tatmadaw’s operations with their wide array of international human rights and humanitarian law violations. There are strong and persistent business and familial links between the Tatmadaw, its conglomerates MEHL and MEC, and a number of private Myanmar companies and conglomerates, colloquially known as “crony companies”. (b) Human rights and international humanitarian law violations, including forced labour and sexual violence, have been perpetrated by the Tatmadaw in mining areas, particularly in Kachin State, in connection with their business activities. MEHL and MEC and 23 of their identified subsidiaries have numerous licenses for jade and ruby mining in Kachin and Shan States. (c) At least 45 companies and organizations provided the Tatmadaw with USD 6.15 million in financial donations that were solicited in September 2017 by senior Tatmadaw leadership in support of the “clearance operations” that began in August 2017 against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine. The Mission also found that private companies with enduring links to the Tatmadaw are financing development projects in northern Rakhine in furtherance of the Tatmadaw’s objective of re-engineering the region in a way that erases evidence of Rohingya belonging in Myanmar, and preventing their return to access their homeland and communities. These projects, carried out under the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine (UEHRD) consolidate the 4