The US Treasury has taken Theint Win Htet, daughter of a Myanmar businessman accused of supporting the military-installed government, off its sanctions list. The decision followed a Reuters report that the Trump administration has opened talks with Myanmar’s government. A rights group called it “deplorable”.
The US Department of the Treasury removed Theint Win Htet from its sanctions list on Friday, October 9, according to its website, Al Jazeera reported, citing Reuters.
Who She Is
Theint Win Htet is the daughter of Thein Win Zaw, who founded the Shwe Byain Phyu Group of Companies. In January 2024, under then-President Joe Biden, the Treasury sanctioned the group and his family. It said the company supplied fuel to the military and owned at least 20 firms with close ties to the military leadership.
Her Legal Challenge
- She first asked for removal in a lawsuit against the Biden administration, which was dismissed last year
- In July she filed a second complaint, arguing she has no role in her father’s business
- After the delisting, her lawyer, Erich Ferrari, filed notice to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit
The sanctions had blocked her US credit cards, restricted her foreign bank accounts and forced her to abandon her master’s degree at Columbia University. She now lives in Thailand with her mother, who was removed from the sanctions list last year.
A Shift in US Policy?
The decision followed a Reuters report that President Donald Trump’s administration has opened talks with Myanmar’s government. That would be a break from years of US policy that sanctioned the generals behind the 2021 coup against the democratically elected government. Washington also lifted sanctions in July last year on several other Myanmar nationals and a company accused of aiding the military.
Criticism
The group Justice For Myanmar condemned the move, saying the military is escalating attacks on civilians: “It is deplorable that the US government continues to delist Myanmar cronies and their family members that provide funding for the junta’s terror.”
The Conflict
The Biden administration imposed sanctions on military officers and companies after the 2021 coup, which sparked a civil war that has killed about 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million.
The reports I read did not include a US government statement explaining the delisting.
Image: The US Treasury building in Washington, DC (file photo). Photo: MeanieHyaena / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
