Myanmar’s military regime is questioning former deputy prime minister and home affairs minister Lieutenant-General Soe Htut, his wife Nilar Sein and their two sons, on suspicion of conspiring in corruption, sources have told The Irrawaddy.
Soe Htut is accused of violating legal and financial procedures in inviting tenders for government-funded projects and taking bribes from business owners. His wife and their two sons face the same charges.
A police officer familiar with the matter said Soe Htut awarded contracts for construction projects under the Home Affairs Ministry to companies owned by his son. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity.
Soe Htut has three sons who have business interests in construction, hospitals, food manufacturing, and imports.
The former home affairs minister and his wife have a reputation as rapacious individuals with a haughty attitude toward staff at the ministry. Ministry staff seeking promotions or transfers reportedly had to bribe Nilar Sein, who leads her husband by the nose.
“To win tenders for contracts, businesspeople must approach her [Nilar Sein]. Businessmen are given 10 minutes to speak, then told to leave the money [bribe] and leave their house,” said a business owner.
Soe Htut was appointed home affairs minister in 2020. He was concurrently appointed deputy prime minister of the regime in February. Following rumors about his health, he was transferred to lead the Union Government Office 1 in August.
He was forced to step down from the junta’s cabinet and transferred back to his original military duties on September 25, then interrogated along with his family and various business owners as part of a nationwide corruption probe.
According to rumor, Nilar Sein and her sons resisted arrest when junta troops arrived at their home to detain them for interrogation.
As home affairs minister, Soe Htut personally oversaw the executions of four anti-regime activists including veteran pro-democracy activist Ko Jimmy and former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw in Insein Prison last year. The hangings of the political prisoners, the first in decades in Myanmar, triggered a massive public outcry.
A source in Naypyitaw who is close to the Myanmar military said: “[Soe Htut’s] case has been heard and the verdict is pending. I think the regime will lay the blame at Soe Htut’s door for the execution of Zeya Thaw and Ko Jimmy.”
Soe Htut served as commander of Southern Command, and as military intelligence chief, and has been described as the alter ego of coup leader Min Aung Hlaing.
He and Police Brigadier-General Kyaw Soe Win led the team that arrested President U Win Myint of the ousted NLD government on the day of coup in February 2021.
