"Japanese beer giant Kirin said it may cut ties with its joint-venture partner Myanma Economic Holdings (MEHL) after the military conglomerate repeatedly ignored Kirin’s requests for financial documents during a due diligence review, Kirin said Friday. Since February, Kirin has been asking MEHL for financial information as part of a “strategic review” of its Myanmar operations. The company said on Friday that MEHL, after first providing “insufficient” documentation, has been unresponsive. Kirin is the majority owner in joint ventures with MEHL of both the Myanmar Brewery and the Mandalay Brewery, together producing about 80% of the beer consumed in Myanmar. The review came after several human rights campaigns raised concerns about MEHL profits potentially funding a military accused of genocide. A detailed UN report from 2019 urged companies to stop doing business with MEHL, saying it and its associated businesses continue to help fund human rights abuses against ethnic communities across Myanmar. MEHL is headed by commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing, who the UN has recommended be tried for genocide for leading a campaign of mass murder, rape and arson against the Rohingya in Rakhine state in 2017. Kirin’s requests having gone unheeded, the company has now hired financial consultants from Deloitte “to determine the destination of proceeds” from its joint ventures with MEHL, it said in a statement Friday..."