Myanmar's junta tried to withdraw $ 1 billion from the Federal Reserve after the coup

Protesters call for the release of Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Mandalay this Friday.

Just three days after giving a coup that has put an end to a decade of democratic transition in Myanmar (the former Burma), the military junta made attempts to extract around 1 billion dollars (about 836 million euros) of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The movement sparked alerts from the US authorities, which paralyzed the transaction, finally frozen by executive order of the newly invested president, Joe Biden, according to an exclusive from Reuters.

The military attempted to withdraw the money on behalf of the Myanmar Central Bank on February 4, a move that was initially blocked by the Federal Reserve's safeguard measures.

Members of the US government delayed the approval of the operation until they received an executive order from President Biden that gave them legal authority to definitively prevent it, according to sources consulted by Reuters, including a representative of the US government.

A spokesman for the New York Federal Reserve and the US Treasury Department have declined to comment on the matter, for now.

The initial lockdown was made possible by measures incorporated by the New York Federal Reserve before the coup.

Myanmar was already under increased scrutiny since last year, when it was added to a list of countries suspected of engaging in money laundering activities, especially due to the use of funds from drug trafficking.

The Burmese generals were in control of the Central Bank of Myanmar at the time of proceeding with the failed transaction.

When they took power on February 1, overthrowing the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) won last November's elections, they appointed a new governor of the Central Bank and detained key figures of the Burmese financial apparatus, including Bo Bo Nge, the deputy governor of the entity and an ally of Suu Kyi, who is still in detention, such as the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

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The US executive order specifically names the Central Bank of Myanmar as part of the Burmese government, and authorizes the freezing of the assets of the military regime in control after the coup, indefinitely.

Myanmar's reserves are partly managed by the Central Bank's International Accounts Service, part of the Fed Bank of New York, where many central financial institutions hold reserves in US dollars.

The junta's attempt to get the money out of the US shows its plan to limit its exposure to the international sanctions envisaged after carrying out the coup, justified by unproven allegations that the November elections were fraudulent.

The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions after the coup against members of the Board.

At least 54 people have died due to military and police repression during the protests that have been occupying the streets of many Burmese cities for a month, according to the UN.