A United Nations report has revealed that a British company sold over £70,000 worth of navigation technology to the Biurmese army, which is accused of carrying out genocide and war crimes against the Rohingya.
Aberdeen-based Veripos is one of 59 international firms identified in the six-month study.
The army – known as the Tatmadaw – is accused by the UN of waging a two-year war of terror against the minority-Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine state.
The Buddhist-majority authorities in Burma, also known as Myanmar, view the Rohingya as illegal Bangladeshi migrants that have settled within their borders. This is despite many Rohingya calling Burma home for generations.
The UN has called for senior military officials to face prosecution for carrying out mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson in what it has described as “the gravest crimes under international law.”
Since the military crackdown against the Rohingya began in 2017, over 730,000 of the group are thought to have fled their homes to neighbouring Bangladesh.
The latest UN study found that the Burmese army has been able to maintain its policy of ethnic cleansing thanks to its control over a business empire estimated to be worth more than £98 billion and purchases of military technology and equipment from abroad.
It called for the assets of companies doing business with the military to be frozen as they risked contributing to further human rights violations.
In addition to Veripos, state-owned firms from China, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, India, the Philippines and Israel had inked billion dollar deals with the military.
They had supplied fighter jets, warships, ballistic missile systems, handguns and combat vehicles. Private companies from Belgium, France, Canada, Austria and Norway were also named by the UN.
In a statement, Veripos told The Guardian: “Through an intermediary in Singapore, Veripos provided GPS products to the Myanmar Naval Hydrographic Center between 2014 and 2017 in compliance with applicable legislation and regulation.
“Our products are used for civil marine applications, eg hydrographic survey. Veripos remains committed to the highest standards of ethical behaviour and will abide by any regulations provided by the United Nations as a result of this report.”