In the months following the military’s February 1, 2021 illegal coup attempt, a junta-linked network sought to sell 800kg of gold through Thailand, Laos and Hong Kong, according to draft contracts, letters of intent and private messages seen by Justice For Myanmar.

Justice For Myanmar has identified the involvement of Khin Thiri Thet Mon, the daughter of junta head Min Aung Hlaing, in trying to find buyers. Tun Min Latt, an arms broker and close associate of Min Aung Hlaing’s family, acted as an intermediary together with his Thai business partner Upakit Pachariyangkun, then a Thai senator. The designated buyer was a commodities trading subsidiary of the Lao conglomerate AIF Group, while a proxy company in Thailand, BFA (Thailand) Co. Ltd., was to be the end seller. The transaction was set to be routed through BIC Bank, a partially state-owned Lao bank that is part of AIF Group. However, the deal collapsed mid-2021 as neither side would provide the financial security they each needed to complete the transaction.

While reference is made to 200 kg of gold having been previously sold, Justice For Myanmar was unable to confirm if any gold did in fact change hands. However, the fact that this attempt was made at all demonstrates the high risk of transnational gold smuggling and laundering by the junta and Min Aung Hlaing’s inner circle.

Justice For Myanmar urges Thai, Lao and Hong Kong authorities to investigate the junta’s illicit gold trade and ensure accountability. The USA, UK, EU, Canada and Australia must urgently expand targeted sanctions against the junta and its cronies and respond to transnational criminal activities from the junta and its associates.

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The deal

According to private communication, Tun Min Latt approached Upakit in May 2021 with an offer to broker a gold sale with a “5-10% discount” from the market rate, which was around US$60,115 per kilogram at the time. The two discussed paying for an initial half tonne (500 kg) amount of gold in cash, which was worth around US$30 million. Tun Min Latt claimed that some of the gold was already available for sale in Bangkok, that there would be a regular supply, and warned of the need for high secrecy.

Justice For Myanmar has identified the "coordinator" of the gold sale as Khin Thiri Thet Mon. She is referred to by her nickname "Mee Nge", which is used by her family members and friends, according to multiple Justice For Myanmar sources. In correspondence between Tun Min Latt and Upakit, Khin Thiri Thet Mon is also referred to as "the daughter". Tun Min Latt additionally invoked “Chairman, State Administration Council”, Min Aung Hlaing’s self-appointed title at the time, suggesting institutional backing for the gold offer.

Khin Thiri Thet Mon and Tun Min Latt have a close business and personal history, including a now defunct joint venture company in Myanmar, Star Thiri Investment Co. Ltd. (later renamed Royal Mawtaung Mining Co. Ltd.), which was registered for the mining of metal ores. Tun Min Latt has helped Khin Thiri Thet Mon and other family members of Min Aung Hlaing with international banking, purchases, travel arrangements and even joined them on family trips. In 2022, Tun Min Latt was arrested in Bangkok on charges of money laundering and drug trafficking (he was later acquitted). When Thai police arrested Tun Min Latt in his Bangkok apartment, they found a bank passbook belonging to Khin Thiri Thet Mon and the title for a luxury condo belonging to her brother, Aung Pyae Sone.

Khin Thiri Thet Mon’s involvement in the gold plot took place weeks after she was sanctioned by the USA in March 2021 alongside Aung Pyae Sone and a number of their businesses. At the time the sanctions were imposed, Star Thiri Investment was not publicly known and was not designated.  

To sell the gold, Upakit brought in AIF Precious Metal Import-Export Service Sole Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of AIF Group, a major private Lao conglomerate operating in the telecoms, banking, energy and commodities trading sectors. AIF appeared to have initially agreed to buy lots of gold at a minimum of 400 kg per shipment to be settled through BIC Bank Lao Co. Ltd., a financial institution that AIF jointly owns with Electricite du Laos, a state-owned enterprise. The draft agreement with AIF specified that the gold needed to be a minimum 99.95% pure with internationally accepted hallmarks and that the logistics companies Brink’s or G4S would be used to deliver the gold to the buyer’s location in Bangkok. As AIF Precious Metal Import-Export is itself a trading company that provides services facilitating the trade of precious metals, it is unclear if it was intended to be the final buyer or an intermediary. AIF Group and BIC Bank did not respond to questions from Justice For Myanmar.

The sale was structured through a Thai end seller, which provided cover for the true sellers and a paper trail for the Lao buyer. The listed end seller, BFA (Thailand), is a Thai private company with Thai and Vietnamese shareholders that appears to have a track record of acting as an intermediary in gold sales, according to records found online. The company has changed its name three times since its founding in 2015, has registered objectives that include the trade of precious metals and "recycled products through third-party transportation, import, and export services", and has since established a branch in Hong Kong, BFA 9999 Co. Ltd. While there were a number of changes to BFA (Thailand)’s ownership, the Thai citizen Phanid Phookaew remains constant, is publicly named as managing director, became the sole shareholder of the Hong Kong company and is listed as the authorised signatory of BFA (Thailand) in contracts shared by Tun Min Latt. In the negotiations, BFA (Thailand) asked for 6% commission, which would leave Tun Min Latt and Upakit with a combined 3-4% commission for themselves.

According to documents reviewed, BFA (Thailand) was already working for the sellers by the time Tun Min Latt approached Upakit. An earlier draft letter of intent seen by Justice For Myanmar proposed a different structure for the gold sale, with delivery to vaults at Bank of China (Hong Kong) or HSBC, which the seller provided as an initial basis for the sale. A separate English and Chinese bilingual sales agreement, whose filename referenced April, stated that BFA (Thailand) as the end seller held a trading licence for "expired, recyclable and used" precious metals. Justice For Myanmar cannot confirm if these early draft contracts indicated that some gold was traded through Hong Kong by Min Aung Hlaing’s network. Justice For Myanmar wrote to BFA (Thailand), Phanid Phookaew, HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong) about the attempted sale but did not receive a response. New documents were prepared with AIF Precious Metal Import-Export Service Sole as the buyer.

Throughout the attempted sale to AIF, the quantity of gold offered shifted, from 800 kg annually, to 400 kg that was listed in the draft contract with AIF, to a final amount of 200 kg by the end of June. 800 kg of gold is a significant quantity that exceeded Myanmar’s reported annual gold production that year. The value of the deal ranged from over US$48 million for 800 kg to over US$12 million for 200 kg, a significant amount.

The discussion showed the buyer pushing to see certificates for the gold and assessing that the bars were from unrecognised refineries. The seller refused to provide certificates without securing the contract. As proof, the seller shared a video of the gold, released with "approval of the board" and a photo as evidence the sale was genuine.

While negotiations progressed, the buyer and seller could not agree on who should provide financial guarantees first. AIF wanted the seller to deposit a 5% guarantee before it would commit to a smaller, 3% guarantee. The seller wanted AIF to commit first and offered only a 2% guarantee in return. Eventually, a deadline was set for signing by June 5, 2021, with a target close date by early July. As the parties could not agree on financial guarantees and sequencing, the deal collapsed. Tun Min Latt and Upakit could not break the deadlock.

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Governments must act against the illegal Myanmar junta

While the plot failed, the fact it got so far demonstrates the risk the Myanmar junta poses to the security of countries in the region. The Myanmar military under Min Aung Hlaing is at the centre of a web of criminal activities that have greatly expanded since the coup attempt, with a surge in cyber scams, human trafficking, online gambling and money laundering. Min Aung Hlaing, his family members and close associates are themselves directly involved in money laundering, asset theft and illegal gambling, and enrich themselves from the exploitation of Myanmar’s gold and other natural resources.

The junta relies on the trade of natural resources to fund its ongoing campaign of terror against the people, which involves nationwide indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling, rape and sexual violence, mass arbitrary arrest, torture and mass forced displacement. These war crimes and crimes against humanity have continued to intensify as Min Aung Hlaing orchestrated a sham election in December 2025 and January 2026, and rebranded the illegal military junta in April 2026.

The junta is a criminal organisation that requires a strong response from the international community. This must include targeted sanctions on the junta and its cronies to block access to funds, arms and aviation fuel, accountability for the commission of international and transnational crimes, and the refusal to recognise the junta as the government.

The Myanmar military cartel must be dismantled.