Justice for Myanmar (JFM) has called on Italy to target resident Rachel Tayza, also known as Htoo Htwe Tay Za, the daughter of Myanmar junta arms broker Tay Za.
On Monday, French lawyers William Bourdon and Lily Ravon reported Tayza to the Italian authorities on behalf of the rights group as a director of firms owned by her family’s EU-sanctioned Htoo Group of Companies. The JFM called on Italy to freeze Tayza’s assets and expel her from the country.
Bourdon and Ravon submitted evidence to Tayza’s bank, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, which is owned by BNP Paribas, calling for action under European Union sanctions.
Tay Za, the Htoo Group founder, and his businesses were sanctioned by the EU, US, UK and Canada for providing financial support and arms to Myanmar’s regime. He lives in Singapore and has deep connections with several of Myanmar’s military regimes.
Ms Tayza was sanctioned by the US in January last year for her role in the Htoo Group.
Htoo Group donated funds to Myanmar’s military in 2017 during the brutal campaign against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, JFM said on Friday, quoting the EU’s sanctions against the conglomerate.
JFM said Ms Tayza recently completed her studies at a fashion school in Milan while conducting Htoo business.
She is director of at least seven Htoo companies, including firms formed after the 2021 coup, and businesses that deal directly with Myanmar’s military, JFM reported.
Ayeyarwady Resorts and Lodges Company Limited has a build-operate-transfer contract with the military’s EU-sanctioned Office of the Quarter Master General. It also has a commercial project in Yangon, providing the military with approximately US$1.65 million annually under a 50-year contract, JFM reported, citing Myanmar Investment Commission data released by the Distributed Denial of Secrets.
Ms Tayza was a director in the now-dissolved Myanmar Avia Export Company Limited, an arms broker that supplied Russian military aircraft and spare parts, the group added.
JFM spokeswoman Yadanar Maung said Italy was allowing Ms Tayza to conduct her illegal business and help fund the junta. She urged the EU to impose sanctions on the Htoo Group and other junta cronies and arms brokers.
She said: “Rachel Tayza and her family have long aided the military’s endless war crimes and crimes against humanity through the Htoo Group of Companies and profited from the people’s blood.
“Rachel Tayza should be held accountable under EU sanctions and Italy needs to ensure that she and other cronies cannot do their bloodstained business on Italian soil.”