State Counsellor and National League for Democracy (NLD) chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi is facing four additional corruption charges, a member of her legal team told Myanmar Now.
Two new cases against Suu Kyi alone and two against both her and other NLD politicians were recently filed at the Mandalay Region High Court, according to one of her lawyers, Min Min Soe. The lawyers were not informed of the date of the filing.
“Only after we submit the Power of Attorney papers will we know the details of the cases. We will know who is involved only at that time,” she said.
Former Naypyitaw mayor Dr. Myo Aung, Deputy Mayor Ye Min Oo, and Naypyitaw city development committee member Min Thu were also being charged in one of the two collective cases facing Suu Kyi, Min Min Soe said.
Regarding the second case, her lawyers had not yet been informed of the identities of the three defendants accused alongside Suu Kyi.
Lawyer Min Min Soe said that Suu Kyi planned to grant Power of Attorney to her legal team on Monday. The first hearing for the additional cases is set for July 22 at the Mandalay Region High Court.
Suu Kyi, who was arrested shortly before the February 1 military coup, was already facing seven charges, including six brought forward by the junta and one filed by a civilian alleging that she violated the Natural Disaster Management Law.
The junta publicly announced on June 9 that it would prosecute Suu Kyi for serious corruption violations.
Suu Kyi and three members of the NLD cabinet were initially charged under Section 55 and 63 of the Anti-Corruption Law, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, the military council announced in state-run newspapers.
Citing the reported findings of the Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation team under the junta, the military junta accused Suu Kyi of accepting a total of US$600,000 and 7 viss of gold—around 11.4kg—in bribes from former Yangon Region Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein on three separate occasions in exchange for support and protection of the chief minister’s businesses.
Phyo Min Thein, however, has not been prosecuted. Prominent lawyer Khin Maung Zaw, a member of Suu Kyi’s legal team, previously told Myanmar Now that the former chief minister was likely to appear as a government witness or a prosecution witness in the case against the detained State Counsellor.
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