Burma’s generals are reportedly pocketing tens of millions of dollars of foreign aid intended for cyclone victims by manipulating the rate at which the money is exchanged into local currency, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. The Burmese junta insists that US dollars and other hard currency entering the country must be converted first of all into so-called Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs) and then into the Burmese currency, kyat. This month the exchange rate for FECs dropped to 880 kyat to the dollar, while one dollar fetches 1,180 kyat at unofficial exchanges in Rangoon and other Burmese cities. The discrepancy results in a surplus of almost 30 per cent in the regime’s favour in its cyclone relief budget. "Where does that money go?" asked a Burmese exile researcher. "I’ll give you three guesses." More than $200...
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