According to a report by Global Witness, the military junta in Myanmar heavily relies on the country's gemstone industry for funding, including through rubies, sapphires, and other coloured stones. The military's exploitation of these minerals is illegal, since all mining licences expired in 2020. Despite this, mining has surged since the coup in 2021, with tens of thousands of informal miners exploited by the military and armed groups. In addition, the military systematically collects bribes from informal miners in key extraction areas. The complex supply chains obscure the origins of the gemstones, making it difficult for buyers to monitor ethical sourcing. Consequently, multinational jewelers may be exposed to rubies that are linked to the funding military abuses; only four of over 30 allegedly implicated companies have publicly declared that they have stopped sourcing from Myanmar.