In May 2021, Myanmar arms broker Tun Min Latt approached a Thai business associate with an unusual proposal: to sell hundreds of kilograms of gold at a discount of between 5% and 10% below market prices.

The initial proposal involved a cash transaction for 500 kilograms of gold, valued at approximately US$30 million. According to messages cited by Justice For Myanmar (JFM), Tun Min Latt said part of the gold was already available for delivery in Bangkok and that additional shipments could be supplied on a regular basis. He also stressed that the transaction needed to remain strictly confidential.

According to Justice For Myanmar, the proposal emerged only months after Myanmar’s military seized power in the February 1, 2021 coup and was far more than a routine commercial transaction.

The rights group alleges that the plan was part of a cross-border operation aimed at selling as much as 800 kilograms of gold through Thailand, Laos and Hong Kong, involving individuals closely connected to Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s family.

Justice For Myanmar said draft contracts, letters of intent and private messaging records it reviewed indicate that Min Aung Hlaing’s daughter, Khin Thiri Thet Mon, played a coordinating role in the proposed transaction.

According to the organization, message exchanges referred to her both as “the daughter” and by the nickname “Mee Nge,” a name it said is commonly used by people close to the family.

Justice For Myanmar said the negotiations were facilitated by Tun Min Latt and former Thai parliamentarian Upakit Pachariyangkun, whom it identified as Tun Min Latt’s Thai business associate.

The organization said Upakit connected the prospective sellers with a precious metals trading company owned by the Laos-based AIF Group, which was expected to act as the buyer.

According to the documents reviewed by Justice For Myanmar, payment was to be processed through BIC Bank Lao, a financial institution jointly owned by AIF Group and Electricité du Laos, the country’s state-owned power utility.

The proposed transaction also designated BFA (Thailand) Co., Ltd. as the formal seller of record. Justice For Myanmar said the Thai-registered company would have appeared as the legal contracting party in transaction documents, a structure that could have obscured the identity of the gold’s original owners and the actual sellers while providing documentation for the Lao buyer.

Justice For Myanmar said the arrangement appeared designed to conceal the origin of the gold and facilitate a cross-border transaction through intermediary companies and financial institutions.

New Day Myanmar has not independently verified the documents or the allegations contained in Justice For Myanmar’s report. At the time of publication, no public response from Khin Thiri Thet Mon, Tun Min Latt or the companies named in the report was included in the organization’s findings.

“Mee Nge” and Tun Min Latt

According to Justice For Myanmar (JFM), Khin Thiri Thet Mon and Tun Min Latt maintained close business and personal ties well before the proposed gold transaction emerged.

The organization said the two co-founded Star Thiri Investment Co., Ltd. in Myanmar, registering the company for mining activities. The company was later renamed Royal Mawtaung Mining Co., Ltd.

Justice For Myanmar alleged that Tun Min Latt handled a range of business affairs for Khin Thiri Thet Mon and other members of Min Aung Hlaing’s family, including international banking arrangements, property acquisitions and overseas travel.

JFM said private messages reviewed during its investigation referred to Khin Thiri Thet Mon by the nickname “Mee Nge”—a Burmese family nickname meaning “the younger daughter” that is commonly used by people close to her family—as well as simply “the daughter.” The organization said the references were consistent with its assessment that she played a coordinating role in the proposed gold deal.

In 2022, Tun Min Latt was arrested in Bangkok on allegations of money laundering and drug trafficking. He was later acquitted by a Thai court.

According to Justice For Myanmar, Thai police searching Tun Min Latt’s Bangkok apartment seized a bank passbook belonging to Khin Thiri Thet Mon and ownership documents for a luxury condominium owned by Min Aung Hlaing’s son, Aung Pyae Sone.

Khin Thiri Thet Mon had already been sanctioned by the United States in March 2021, before the reported gold sale negotiations began.

The U.S. sanctions also targeted Aung Pyae Sone and several companies owned by the two siblings. However, Justice For Myanmar noted that Star Thiri Investment Co., Ltd. was not included because the company had not yet been publicly identified when the sanctions were imposed.

Proposed Gold Deal Scaled Back from 800kg to 200kg

According to Justice For Myanmar (JFM), the original proposal called for the sale of 800 kilograms of gold per year.

Draft agreements prepared for negotiations with AIF Group later reduced the proposed volume to 400 kilograms, before it was cut again to 200 kilograms by late June 2021.

Justice For Myanmar said the initial target of 800 kilograms exceeded Myanmar’s officially reported annual gold production for that year.

Based on prevailing market prices at the time, the organization estimated that a shipment of 200 kilograms would have been worth more than US$12 million, while an 800-kilogram deal could have exceeded US$48 million.

Draft contracts reviewed by Justice For Myanmar specified that the gold would have to be at least 99.95% pure and bear internationally recognized refinery hallmarks.

The documents also proposed that the gold be transported to the buyer in Bangkok by specialist security and valuables logistics companies such as Brink’s or G4S.

However, the negotiations stalled after the prospective buyer requested documentation verifying the gold’s quality and certificates identifying the refinery that produced it.

According to Justice For Myanmar, the sellers declined to provide those documents, arguing that a final contract had not yet been signed.

The prospective buyer subsequently questioned whether the gold bars had been produced by internationally accredited refineries.

To demonstrate that the gold existed, the sellers later provided a video and a photograph showing gold bars bearing the words “By Board Approval,” Justice For Myanmar said. The organization did not state that it had independently verified the authenticity of the images or the gold shown.

The Hong Kong–Bangkok–Laos Trade Route

According to Justice For Myanmar (JFM), early transaction documents proposed that the gold be delivered to secure vaults operated by Bank of China or HSBC in Hong Kong.

A bilingual English-Chinese draft agreement, contained in a file labelled “April,” identified BFA (Thailand) Co., Ltd. as the holder of a renewable licence to trade precious metals.

Justice For Myanmar said BFA (Thailand), established in 2015, had changed its name three times since its incorporation. The company’s registered business objectives include import and export activities, logistics and the trading of precious metals.

The organization said the company later established a Hong Kong branch under the name BFA 9999 Co., Ltd.

Although the company’s ownership structure changed several times, Thai national Phanid Phookaew remained involved from its incorporation and was listed as the managing director and authorized signatory on contractual documents, according to Justice For Myanmar.

During the negotiations, BFA (Thailand) sought a 6% commission on the transaction value. Based on the proposed fee structure, Justice For Myanmar said Tun Min Latt and former Thai lawmaker Upakit Pachariyangkun could have shared a commission of approximately 3% to 4%.

Justice For Myanmar said it sought comment from BFA (Thailand), Phanid Phookaew, HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong) but did not receive responses. The organization also said AIF Group and BIC Bank Lao did not respond to its requests for comment.

Dispute Over Financial Guarantees

According to Justice For Myanmar, the proposed transaction came close to being finalized but ultimately collapsed over disagreements about financial guarantees.

The organization said AIF Group required the sellers to deposit a 5% performance guarantee before the buyer would provide a 3% guarantee.

The sellers, however, insisted that the buyer should provide its guarantee first, offering to deposit only 2% in return.

With neither side willing to provide the initial guarantee, the negotiations failed to produce a final agreement.

Justice For Myanmar said the parties had aimed to sign the contract by 5 June 2021 and complete the transaction in early July. However, disagreements over the guarantee arrangements and transaction procedures prevented the deal from proceeding.

The documents reviewed by the organization contain references suggesting that 200 kilograms of gold had previously been sold. However, Justice For Myanmar said it had been unable to independently verify whether any such transfer actually took place.

Likewise, while early drafts proposed routing the gold through Hong Kong, the organization said it could not determine whether any shipments were ultimately completed through that channel.

Unanswered Questions Despite the Deal’s Collapse

Although the proposed transaction was never completed, Justice For Myanmar said the documents raise broader questions about the financial networks surrounding Myanmar’s military leadership.

The proposed arrangement involved companies in Thailand, a business conglomerate and bank in Laos, and banking and storage facilities in Hong Kong, illustrating what the organization described as an extensive cross-border commercial structure.

Justice For Myanmar said the case demonstrates how individuals linked to Myanmar’s military authorities could potentially seek to move and market high-value natural resources through international financial institutions, intermediary companies and cross-border trade networks.

The documents, however, do not establish the original ownership of the gold, the mine from which it originated, who would ultimately receive the proceeds, or whether the gold constituted state-owned assets.

Justice For Myanmar also noted that the proposed volume of 800 kilograms exceeded Myanmar’s officially reported annual gold production, raising additional questions about the source and legality of the gold.

The organization characterized the proposed transaction as an example of the potential risks of cross-border gold smuggling and money laundering involving individuals closely associated with Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.

Justice For Myanmar called on authorities in Thailand, Laos and Hong Kong to investigate the proposed transaction and take action against those responsible if wrongdoing is established.

The organization also urged the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and Australia to expand targeted sanctions against Myanmar’s military authorities, their family members, business associates and affiliated commercial networks.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that Myanmar’s military authorities derive significant revenue from the extraction and sale of natural resources, including gold, gemstones, minerals, oil and natural gas, helping to finance military operations.

Justice For Myanmar said tracing the financial flows generated by those resources has become as important to understanding Myanmar’s conflict as monitoring the movement of weapons and military operations themselves.

While the proposed 800-kilogram gold transaction ultimately failed, the documents reviewed by Justice For Myanmar provide a rare glimpse into what the organization alleges was an effort by networks linked to Myanmar’s military leadership to establish new cross-border financial channels through companies, banks and international trading systems.