Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi’s lakeside house goes up for auction but no bidders show up

Myanmar's jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house went under the hammer on Wednesday (Mar 20), but no bidders showed up. The starting price had been set at around $90 million, news agency Reuters reported citing a witness and local media.

Reports have mentioned that Suu Kyi's property on Yangon's Inye Lake is measured at 1.923 acres (0.78 hectares). It was up for auction at the behest of the Supreme Court after a years-long legal battle between Suu Kyi and her estranged brother Aung San Oo.

The court had ordered its sale in January, but Suu Kyi's lawyers have challenged holding the auction without getting approval from her.

Her estranged brother first sued in 2000 for a share of the property. In 2016, a court rendered a verdict dividing the plot equally among the siblings.

Her brother appealed unsuccessfully multiple times for the court to have the property sold by auction and the proceeds split between him and Suu Kyi.

Following the coup, the Supreme Court granted his special appeal and ruled to sell the property by auction.

At the scheduled time of the auction on Wednesday, the court officials stood outside the front gate of the house at 10:00 local time (03:30 GMT). Three calls were made for any bids, but the auction was eventually closed. Only journalists, officials and undercover police were present.

There's no update on whether or not the auction will take place again.

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The 77-year-old was ousted by the Myanmar junta in a 2021 coup. She was found guilty on various charges ranging from corruption to illegally importing walkie-talkies and breaching the Official Secrets Act. She has been jailed for 27 years. She has been serving her prison sentence at an undisclosed location. Her supporters say that the charges against her are fabricated.

Suu Kyi had lived in the colonial-style villa for the bulk of the more than three decades she has spent in Myanmar since returning from Britain, including 15 years of house arrest under a previous junta.

(With inputs from agencies)