US lifts sanctions on Myanmar businessman's daughter — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- The US Treasury lifted sanctions on Theint Win Htet on Friday, removing her from the SDN List after she filed suit seeking her removal from the blacklist.
- Thein Win Zaw, her father, and his Shwe Byain Phyu Group were sanctioned in January 2024 for importing and distributing petroleum on behalf of Myanmar's military; Treasury said the family owns at least 20 companies linked to the regime.
- Her first lawsuit was dismissed in February 2025; she refiled in July, arguing she has no active role in her father's business and that sanctions blocked her US credit cards, restricted foreign bank accounts, and interrupted her master's program at Columbia University after she completed a bachelor's at NYU.
- The Trump administration has opened talks with Myanmar's military-installed government, reversing US isolation of the generals who overthrew elected leaders in 2021, per Reuters — though the source notes it's unclear if the delisting was a result of those talks.
- Justice For Myanmar called the delisting "deplorable," saying the US government continues removing junta cronies and family members "that provide funding for the junta's terror" while the Myanmar military escalates attacks on civilians.
- The 2021 coup sparked a nationwide civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million, according to the source.
Why it matters: The delisting follows July 2025 removals of other Myanmar nationals from the sanctions list and coincides with broader US re-engagement with the junta, drawing criticism from advocacy groups who note the military continues escalating attacks on civilians in a war that has killed an estimated 100,000 and displaced 3.5 million.
Ask SkimNews
