After his retirement in 1988, Ne Win continued to manipulate the military officers he had appointed to govern. His influence began to wane only in the late 1990s and, in March, he was placed under house arrest; this followed the arrest of his three grandsons and a son-in-law on charges of plotting to overthrow the government. The ruling junta claimed that the Ne Win clan had used black magic and voodoo dolls as part of their plot.