This Canadian family fuelled Myanmar’s civil war with ‘blood pearls’

A company with Canadian directors has operated a lucrative pearl farm in Myanmar together with a state-owned enterprise that has direct ties to the country’s murderous military regime, according to corporate and government records obtained by CBC News.

The company, Belpearl, operates through a network of related entities registered in Toronto, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Myanmar. One of those entities, Belpearl Myanmar, operates a pearl farm with two adjacent locations in the country.

Myanmar pearls, particularly the renowned South Sea golden pearls from the Mergui Archipelago, are among the most sought after in the world for their intense, natural deep-gold colour and large size. 

“There’s probably a lot of consumers that don’t even know that Burma has a military government, that don’t even know it’s in the civil war, and maybe if they knew that, they would look at things differently,” said Eric Braunwart, founder of Columbia Gem House, a Vancouver, Wash., firm that responsibly sources gems.

Exposing the Canadian family that fuelled a civil war with ‘blood pearls’

The regime in Myanmar — formally known as Burma — has waged a civil war since 2021 and the United Nations has accused it of committing “brutal atrocities” and killing thousands of civilians.

Following the 2021 coup, Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and other Western governments placed sanctions on Myanmar as part of efforts to restrict revenue flowing to the junta. The RCMP was asked almost two years ago to investigate the Belpearl arrangement as a violation of those sanctions.

“There is absolutely a case to be made to call them ‘blood pearls,'” said William Pellerin, of McMillan LLP, which represents the NGO Justice for Myanmar. 

“I think the government of Canada has an obligation to uphold the law, and we pass these laws specifically because it’s in our international interests to make sure that the military junta in Myanmar is not funded and continuing to commit the atrocities that they’ve been committing.”

Corporate records provided by Justice for Myanmar (JFM) show that, until recently, Belpearl Myanmar listed two Canadians — Marie Hajjar and Pierre Hajjar — as directors. The records also show that members of the same family — Michael Hajjar and Sarkis Hajjar — appeared as directors or shareholders across multiple Belpearl entities operating in Asia and Canada.

None of the Hajjars responded to repeated requests for comment.

After CBC News began seeking comment in early January, a company spokesman said both Marie and Pierre Hajjar had “recently” removed themselves as directors of Belpearl Myanmar due to the “mounting crisis.”

In a statement, the company said the Hajjars began the process to divest their shares in 2023, though updated corporate registration documents reflecting those changes for the Singapore firm — which is a majority shareholder in Belpearl Myanmar — weren’t filed until Jan. 16, 2026, more than a week after CBC contacted the company.

In response to CBC’s queries, Belpearl Myanmar said “our former Canadian shareholders were in compliance with Canadian sanctions law.” 

Documents obtained by CBC News show Belpearl Myanmar has operated under a production-sharing agreement with the Myanmar Pearl Enterprise (MPE), a state-owned body that since the coup has fallen under the authority of Myanmar’s military-controlled government.

The terms of such agreements stipulate that MPE is entitled to 25 per cent of the pearl harvest, while the company receives the remaining 75 per cent, according to the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. According to documents reviewed by CBC, in 2024-2025, Belpearl Myanmar harvested roughly 80,000 pearls, with MPE receiving 25 per cent. 

The pearls provided to the MPE are then sold through state-run auctions.

“The money keeps the regime afloat,” said Maw Htun Aung, the deputy minister of Electricity and Energy for Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government. “If you cut these sources of revenue… that would eventually lead to the demise of this military regime.”

After the military junta seized power in February 2021 and sanctions were imposed, Belpearl Myanmar continued to operate in the country under the production agreement.

“Through its regulatory role, MPE is a key generator of government revenue,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in 2021 after it slapped sanctions on the state-run enterprise.

CBC News used satellite imagery to confirm that Belpearl Myanmar’s operations are ongoing. By tracking landmarks in a video posted to YouTube by Belpearl showing one of its farm sites, CBC confirmed the farm’s nets were captured in satellite footage taken last year off the coast of Russell Island.

Pellerin said he believes there’s a strong case for the RCMP to investigate. 

In a written statement, the RCMP said it “does not confirm, deny, or release information relating to criminal investigations until charges are laid, rendering it a matter of public record.”

Legal experts agree there should be an RCMP investigation but are divided on whether the case represents a clear-cut violation of sanctions.

“The production-sharing agreement and the continuing pearl farms operation with the sanctioned Myanmar company fall foul of the regulations, in my opinion,” said Errol Mendes, a prominent law professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in human rights, constitutional law and international business law.

Mendes said it doesn’t matter whether the two Canadians have now stepped back from the company. The question of whether they’ve violated sanctions rests on the time period between 2021 and their apparent exit from the company.

University of Manitoba defence and sanctions expert Andrea Charron said the case is suspicious. 

Normally, companies and individuals caught up in the sudden imposition of sanctions can notify the RCMP of their circumstances and request grace, and an application can be made to Global Affairs Canada for an exemption while the company tries to exit the country.

“Whenever an entity is sanctioned by Canada and you are a Canadian doing business with them, it should give you pause,” said Charron.

“One of the things that Canadians are required to do is to write to the RCMP and let them know if they think there is a potential for a violation, and that’s encouraged. So certainly, if it were me, I would always want to be on the side of caution.”

Belpearl did not respond when asked if it had taken either step.

Charron said the decision to prosecute is generally guided by two criteria, including “whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction” and whether “it is in the public interest” to proceed.

She said she doesn’t believe the case would be a “slam dunk” because following the money in Belpearl’s production-sharing agreement would be tough for Canadian enforcement.

The difficulty of proving the case, Charron said, “is very similar to the blood diamonds” controversy of the late 1990s, where African rebel groups used diamond proceeds to purchase weapons. Traceability issues hampered many blood diamonds prosecutions.

Pellerin, who represents Justice for Myanmar, disagrees and believes the case is clear-cut by virtue of the two Canadians continuing to deal with MPE and not executing plans to leave the country. He said his firm dealt with a number of Canadian companies, for example, that played by the rules following the imposition of sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war. 

In those instances, applications were made to Global Affairs while the businesses in Russia were wound up.

Global Affairs Canada was provided details of CBC’s findings and asked more than a dozen specific questions about Belpearl and the effectiveness of Canada’s sanctions regime.

None of them were answered. 

The department took eight days to respond and provided only a laundry list of initiatives taken against the Myanmar military regime and pointed CBC News to a federal Justice Department list of activities prohibited under sanctions.

Myanmar pearls fetch high prices at auction. An independent estimate of auction sales prepared by Braunwart of Columbia Gem House suggests Belpearl auctions in Hong Kong that included Myanmar pearls from multiple suppliers may have conservatively generated more than $20 million US in pearl sales since the 2021 coup. 

Belpearl Auctions said it has not hosted an auction for the MPE since 2019. It is not known how much revenue Myanmar Pearl Enterprise generated from its share of Belpearl’s harvest during that period. The MPE did not respond to CBC’s request for comment.

“Belpearl PTE (Singapore) and Belpearl Myanmar take our responsibilities very seriously and have always acted in full compliance with international laws,” said Eng Seng Tan, a director at Belpearl Myanmar PTE, in response to questions from CBC News.

“Although there were no legal restrictions on Canadian nationals continuing to own shares in companies in Myanmar, our Canadian shareholders voluntarily chose to remove themselves from the businesses due to the mounting crisis. This process took longer than anticipated due to the complexity of local laws and challenges finding a responsible buyer but was ultimately completed in an orderly manner, and in accordance with applicable laws.”

CBC News investigated whether Myanmar pearls are actually making their way to Canadian retailers.

The Canadian Importers Database shows that Belpearl Toronto was a major importer of pearls from Hong Kong in 2023. 

Shipping records indicate pearls produced by Belpearl Myanmar were transported to Hong Kong, where Belpearl Auctions — a related entity — has held regular auctions. Corporate filings list Marie Hajjar as director of Belpearl Auctions.

In October 2025, a CBC journalist attended a Belpearl auction in Hong Kong and confirmed pearls originating from Myanmar — from various producers, including Belpearl — were being sold. Belpearl Myanmar and Belpearl Auctions both told CBC no Myanmar pearls were shipped to Canada, but they couldn’t speak to “others’ exports.”

When CBC reporters posing as buyers visited the Belpearl Toronto office, a photograph of Myanmar pearls was displayed on a wall — similar to an image in a listing for Myanmar pearls on the company’s website. Company representatives said the Toronto operation functions as a wholesaler and does not sell directly to the public.

Belpearl Toronto employees directed CBC reporters to another Toronto jeweller that sells golden pearls. In undercover footage, employees there told CBC reporters the “South Seas pearls” they were selling were Burmese.

In a written response, Belpearl Toronto denied importing any Myanmar pearls into Canada since the 2021 coup. 

After CBC’s inquiries, a disclaimer has since been added to the listing for Myanmar pearls on Belpearl Toronto’s website, saying it is for “informational purposes only.”

With files from Katie Pederson