Investigators have uncovered another 29bn kyat ($22.5m) worth of assets belonging to Kyaw Myint, the jailed chair of the now disbanded United Democratic Party (UDP), the President’s Office has said. 

The assets consist of 18bn kyat worth of physical possessions, including various properties, as well as 11bn kyat transferred from China, said President’s Office spokesperson Zaw Htay.

Authorities have now found a total of 52 billion kyat while investigating Kyaw Myint, who was arrested last month for escaping from prison in 1999. His party was dissolved earlier this month by the UEC for possessing illegal funds. 

The latest seizure includes properties in Yangon, Hmawbi, Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin and the village of Pyin Sa, said Zaw Htay.

mmnowelectionads.jpg

“If the court rules this is public property, it’ll be nationalised,” he told a press conference last week. “It’s still being investigated.’

Kyaw Myint has been indicted under article 224 of the penal code for absconding from prison 21 years ago, when he was serving a nine-year sentence for breaching Myanmar’s business laws. 

He was also accused of laundering drug money for the United Wa State Army.  

Despite being a fugitive, he returned to Myanmar in 2013 via the Muse land border with China. He has now also been charged for breaching the 1947 Immigration Act when he re-entered the country. 

The prison break charge could land him a two-year sentence, while the immigration violation is punishable by up to five years in prison. He will also be made to serve the remaining eight years of the sentence he absconded from in 1999. 

After escaping the prison, Kyaw Myint sought asylum in America and then Canada, where he founded the UDP in 2007. He officially registered the party at the Union Election Commission before the 2010 election.

Kyaw Myint faces further charges under the Anti Money Laundering Law and the Political Parties Registration Law, Zaw Htay said, without elaborating. 

“The investigation team will report to the chair of the team as to what he should be charged with,” he said. “The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, general Soe Tint Naing, is on the team.” 

The President’s Office has yet to provide any information about how Kyaw Myint was allowed to be the chair of a political party after entering the country in 2013.

In Kyaw Myint’s official statement at the Chan Aye Tharzan court on October 23, he said he entered Myanmar after meeting with Myanmar diplomats in America and China.

He also said he met Union Election Commission chair Tin Aye and Prisons Department director general Kyaw Nyunt when he was trying to register as the UDP’s chair.

When asked about Kyaw Myint’s meetings with officials from the previous government, Zaw Htay said it was important to understand whether accepting a meeting with Kyaw Myint was against the law.

“Did the person follow legal procedures when meeting him? If not, they’ll be penalised,” he said.

It is unclear if any officials from the previous government are being investigated.

The UDP fielded just a few dozen candidates in the 2010 and 2015 elections and failed to win any seats. Before it was dissolved on october 17, it had planned to contest in over 1,130 constituencies, the second-largest number after the National League for Democracy, 

Some of the party’s members have since said they will back the military’s proxy party, the USDP. 

Kyaw Myint is likely to be sentenced next month, with closing arguments from both sides due on November 3.