Myanmar junta's attempt to move $1B held at NY Fed blocked by US – Reuters

The U.S. blocked the military rulers of Myanmar from moving roughly $1 billion held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York days after they seized power and detained the Southeast Asian country's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Feb. 1, Reuters reported, citing one U.S. government official and two other people familiar with the matter.

Fed safeguards first blocked the Feb. 4 transaction in the Central Bank of Myanmar's name. U.S. government officials then stalled on approving the transaction until receiving legal authority to block it indefinitely from an executive order from U.S. President Joe Biden, the sources told Reuters.

The attempted transfer has not been previously reported, according to the news outlet. It followed the installation of a new central bank governor by Myanmar's military.

A New York Fed spokesman and the U.S. Treasury Department did not comment on the matter, according to Reuters. The news outlet said it tried but failed to reach officials at Myanmar's central bank, and a Myanmar military government spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment.