Court convicts Suu Kyi on two corruption charges

Aung San Suu Kyi in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 11, 2019. [AP Photo]

A court in military-ruled Myanmar has convicted ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on two corruption charges, according to people familiar with the matter.

The new convictions included three-year sentences to be served concurrently.

Suu Kyi was accused of receiving $550,000 in bribes from businessman Maung Weik.

She has denied the charges and is expected to appeal.

Suu Kyi was detained in February 2021 as the military ousted her government and seized power.

Since then, Suu Kyi has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for a range of corruption convictions that her supporters say were politically motivated.

In April this year, Suu Kyi was sentenced to five years in jail after finding her guilty in the first of 11 corruption cases against her.

The Nobel laureate and figurehead of Myanmar's opposition to military rule was charged with at least 18 offences carrying combined maximum jail terms of nearly 190 years, all but killing off any chance of a political comeback.

Since her arrest, she had been held in an undisclosed location, where junta chief Min Aung Hlaing previously said she could remain after earlier convictions in December and January for comparatively minor offences, for which she was sentenced to six years altogether.

A spokesman for the military government was not immediately available for comment.