DBS and OCBC deny keeping Burmese junta’s ill-gotten gains
September 11th, 2009 | 
Author: From our Correspondent
DBS and OCBC banks from Singapore have issued a strong denial of a report released by NGO EarthRights International alleging that Burma’s military junta deposited billions of dollars with them.
Both said in separate statements made yesterday that there was no truth in the report
‘ERI’s report is categorically untrue and without basis,’ a DBS spokesman said in the brief statement. A spokesman from OCBC also rejected the report.
By using an outdated exchange rate, the junta declares a fraction of the revenues to the State budget, enabling it to siphon the rest off. The junta calculates revenue at just 6 kyat to the dollar when the de facto rate is closer to 1,000.
According to a confidential International Monetary Fund (IMF) report obtained by ERI, revenue “contributed less than 1 percent of total budget revenue in 2007/08, but would have contributed about 57 percent if valued at the market exchange rate.”
The report says these rates allow the regime to list a mere $29 million of the Yadana earnings, leaving around $4.8 billion unaccounted for, which ERI believes to be lodged in the Singapore banks.
ERI’s Matthew Smith said that the information about offshore accounts in Singapore comes “from confidential and reliable sources,” but could not go into more detail.
“We expect the Singapore government and banks to do the right thing based on Singaporean law relating to money laundering, which prohibits any such transactions and requires banks to report these,” he added.
ERI said that the gas revenue windfall insulates the country’s military rulers from the impact of international sanctions, which were tightened after the August 11 verdict returning Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest.
“As long as the regime has access to such vast revenue it has little incentive to reform or change,” Smith said. “The elites are hiding billions of dollars of the people’s revenue in Singapore, while the country needlessly suffers under the lowest social spending in Asia.”
As well as long-standing rumors about Burma’s resource revenue being stashed in Singapore, the ill-gotten gains of elites in North Korea and Zimbabwe are also thought to be held in the city-state.
US financial giant Merrill Lynch estimates a third of Singapore’s 60,000-odd millionaires are Indonesian, whereby Jakarta’s wealthy beneficiaries of corruption and cronyism have moved their holdings away from the anti-corruption efforts undertaken by President Yudhoyono.
Singapore has come under increasing criticisms from the international community about its cosy relationships with the junta’s key leaders who frequently jet into Singapore for medical treatment.
In the last few years, Singapore has become one of the largest foreign investors in Burma with business interests in property, hotel, tourism and education.
Singapore leaders appear to be unperturbed by the Burmese military junta’s dismal human rights record. In the recent trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, Singapore’s Foreign Ministry heap praise on the regime’s head General Than Shwe for “reducing” the length of her sentence.
References:
1. EarthRights International
2. Reuters
3. The Irrawaddy
4. Straits Times
Posted in Headlines
9 Responses to “DBS and OCBC deny keeping Burmese junta’s ill-gotten gains”
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Denial…if it’s untrue then it means the DBS and Ocbc bank can sue EarthRights International for defamation…What are they waiting for?
Proof. You gotta provide proof.
If dun have, then don’t say say only, later kena sue your pants off by you-know-who.
1. The burden of proof is on the accuser…proof is needed, clarifications and verifications.
2. Yes, if no verification is not there, then both DBS and OCBC needs to take legal actions to clear their names, punish these allegations and let it be a warning to other potential accusers.
Andy xie,a former chief asian economist for morgan stanley, who was sacked in 2006 after saying that politicians were eager to suck up to the “dragon prince” at the IMF meeting and that singapore relied on “dirty money” was right all along.
The emperor has no clothes, andy xie was courageous enough to point it out. He had also forecast the financial crisis before it happens. i like reading his commentary because they are unlike the other economist who only know to follow the trend until they fall off the cliff.
The burden of proof is on the accuser but only when DBS or OCBC sues.
HOWEVER, one must remember that the agency is NOT in Sinkapore, thus DBS and OCBC cannot expect any favours from the Courts and the lawsuit will be fair and just.
The agency reporting it is a credible entity and I doubt they would seriously want to make wild allegations if they have nothing to go on.
On the other hand, we know how Sinkapore bank work. One would rather trust the agency’s report than the Sinkapore banks, disagree?
IF and a BIG IF the reports are false and baseless, then DBS and OCBC MUST SUE to protect their reputation, no 2 ways about it.
Failure to sue would suggest that there is truth in the report, PERIOD.
After DBS’ high notes 5 saga, who will trust it again?
[...] DBS and OCBC deny keeping Burmese junta’s ill-gotten gains [...]
The burden of proof is with the accuser, yes, but don’t start screaming ‘no proof’ when you haven’t read the report for yourself yet. There is proof, you’re just choosing not to look at it.
TSH, I agree. A close read shows ‘According to a confidential International Monetary Fund (IMF) report obtained by ERI, revenue “contributed less than 1 percent of total budget revenue in 2007/08, but would have contributed about 57 percent if valued at the market exchange rate.”’.
If report by the IMF is NOT Credible, then who else can we trust?
Again I say, if these banks are concerned and truely innocent, then they MUST SUE if they want to maintain any shred of decency and creditability left.