Aung San Suu Kyi, the former leader of Myanmar, was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for corruption, bringing her total time behind bars to 26 years.
According to News Agency, Myanmar Now, the judgement was handed down by the Mandalay Region High Court in a junta-run, secret court inside the Naypyitaw Detention Center.
The businessman Maung Weik, who brought the accusations, claimed in a videotaped deposition taken by the military coup in March 2021 that the State Counselor had accepted more than USD 550,000 in bribes on the four occasions they had met between 2018 and 2020.
In a statement, businessman Weik claimed that Suu Kyi received the funds from him alone
But, according to Myanmar Now, quoting a source in Naypyitaw who is aware with the court proceedings, at a hearing on May 31, he testified that he transferred the cash in question to a representative from the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, a charity established by Suu Kyi and named after her late mother.
Notably, the court had already imposed a total of 23 years in jail for 12 other offences; following Wednesday’s decision, the overall prison term increased to 26 years.
Businessman Weik is believed to have developed tight bonds with members of the military’s inner circle and to have run a variety of businesses through his contacts to Myanmar’s generals, according to Myanmar Now.