Justice For Myanmar (JFM) released a list of disgraced ASEAN tycoons who are supporting the Myanmar military council’s violent operations on May 12. JFM continues to publish detailed information about these ASEAN tycoons, focusing on three businessmen from Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia who are actively supporting the military regime.
The first individual is Nay Aung, founder and chairman of International Group of Entrepreneurs (IGE). As the son of former Deputy Colonel Aung Thaung, who was notorious for his hardline stance and close ties to former dictator Than Shwe, Nay Aung has been a long-time crony of the Myanmar military. He established a business empire spanning banking, logging, energy, and hotel industries. His business interests include the Lotte Hotel built on military-owned land and controversial hydropower projects on the Salween River.
The second figure is Indonesian tycoon Edwin Soeryadjaya. One of his business ventures, Singapore-listed Interra Resources Ltd, owns 60% of Goldpetrol Joint Operating Company Inc. Goldpetrol has supplied over 2 million barrels of oil worth more than $150 million to the current military regime between January 2021 and late 2023, effectively fueling the junta’s war crimes and mass atrocities. The remaining 40% of Goldpetrol is owned by a subsidiary of NORINCO, a Chinese state-owned enterprise that supplies weapons to the Myanmar military council.
The third individual is Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont. His CP Group is part of two joint venture consortiums developing the controversial Special Economic Zone and oil terminal project in the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor in Kyaukphyu, Rakhine State. This disputed project has been accelerated since the 2021 military coup. CP Group also operates in Myanmar’s agricultural sector, and was previously implicated in sourcing from suppliers using forced labor in 2014. The company continues to operate on land leased from junta-controlled ministries in the Pyinmana Industrial Zone.
