"Senior govt officials sacked after jade investigation”, 3 Mar 2016

Two senior government officials have been sacked in connection with unregulated jade mining operations in the country’s north, according to a President’s Office representative.

Zaw Htay, deputy-director of the President’s Office, said two officials were dismissed, naming Customs Department Director-General Tun Thein and Trade and Commerce Director-General Nyunt Aung. The pair were linked with the illegal import of heavy machinery into mining sites in Hpakant, Kachin State — as jade companies scramble to extract as much of the valuable stone as possible before the next government takes office…

The investigations findings come in the wake of damning reports from drug-ridden Kachin State, where opium production, mining corruption and a slew of deadly accidents have cast a long shadow on the country’s attempts to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative as a fully-fledged member…