Myanmar detains 11 accused of rice price fraud | News

Amid the armed conflict that followed the 2021 coup d’état, Myanmar’s rapidly depreciating currency is destabilizing the economy.

Myanmar military authorities have arrested 11 people, including a Japanese executive, for selling rice at prices above prescribed levels.

Authorities said Monday that those detained include rice traders, millers and retailers. The accusations refer to the sale of rice at prices up to 70 percent higher than those considered acceptable by authorities, who are battling deep economic instability amid the country’s ongoing conflict.

Among those detained was a Japanese executive, whose arrest caused friction with Tokyo. Hiroshi Kasamatsu, director of supermarket operator Aeon Orange, was detained following an investigation into rice mills and supermarkets, the authorities’ intelligence team said on Sunday night.

It stated that Kasamatsu and three Myanmar nationals were suspected of price manipulation “with the aim of creating economic chaos”.

Turbulence

The impoverished Southeast Asian country has been in crisis since the military took control in 2021 after deposing the elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The move triggered widespread protests that turned violent and have since turned into armed resistance across the country. The conflict has forced more than three million people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

In early June, Myanmar arrested 35 people in an effort to crack down on gold and currency traders, as well as agents selling foreign real estate, with the aim of stabilizing a rapidly depreciating currency.

However, rice traders say the mismatch between the official exchange rate and black market rates causes significant problems.

The conflict has also disrupted rice planting, harvesting and transportation, analysts say.

That has helped prices more than double in recent months, traders say. They claim that selling at the officially sanctioned price would cause them to operate at a loss.

However, state media blamed the El Nino weather phenomenon and market hoarders.

Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, confirmed to reporters that police in Myanmar’s commercial capital, Yangon, were interrogating a Japanese citizen.

“The Japanese government intends to continue taking appropriate measures while appealing to local authorities for his early release,” he said, adding that the government is in contact with the Japanese citizen’s employer to offer support.