Four robbers armed with guns and a handmade bomb stole more than 53 million kyat from a branch of CB Bank in Bago Region’s Yedashe Township at around 1:30pm on Friday.
The assailants placed the bomb on a counter at the bank, which sits along the Yangon-Mandalay highway, as a threat before making off with the cash on two motorcycles, a local said, citing a staff member who was present for the robbery.
In a statement the following day the junta blamed the robbery on “terrorists”, a term it uses against armed resistance groups attempting to remove it from power.
The local People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Yedashe denied any involvement in the robbery.
“All of the revolutionary forces in Yedashe are connected and therefore we know it was not any of us,” said a PDF member.
Junta soldiers showed up at the bank shortly after the robbery and took the bomb, the local said. Later, they blocked nearby roads, carried out searches, and interrogated bank staff members.
There has been a spate of bank robberies across the country since the February 1 coup.
In late September robbers stole 4 billion kyat from a branch of Ayeyarwaddy Bank in Bago. The military said the PDF was responsible and the PDF denied the allegation.
