The former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar was detained upon his return to Yangon last week, police confirmed, an arrest that follows the organization’s investigation into suspicious financial transactions involving former board members.
Adam Castillo, a founder and owner of the security risk management firm AGS Myanmar, was taken into custody on Thursday at Yangon International Airport.
Acting police Brig. Gen. Soe Lin Aung, spokesperson for Myanmar’s Home Affairs Ministry, stated, “He was arrested because there was a crime and a lawsuit,” confirming reports without offering further details.
Castillo’s company informed The Associated Press that it was an “ongoing matter” and declined additional comment. An email sent to Castillo through his personal website received no response.
The U.S. State Department acknowledged reports of an American’s detention in Myanmar but cited “privacy considerations” for its inability to comment further.
Myanmar’s military-backed government has not issued an official statement regarding the arrest, and requests for information from the Yangon regional government office and police department went unanswered.
Authorities in the country, currently embroiled in a civil war, rarely engage with international media.
However, several outlets with close ties to the military, including NP News, reported that Castillo’s arrest stemmed from a complaint filed by the American Chamber of Commerce, an organization he led from 2023 to 2025.
When questioned about the complaint, Myat Phyu The, the chamber’s executive director, declined to provide specifics but directed inquiries to the organization’s May 29 annual report, stating it “covers the issue at hand.”
The report details how the current board last year uncovered suspect transactions “undertaken by former board representatives” purportedly on behalf of the chamber, subsequently referring the matter to a law firm for review.
Investigators discovered that “a former board representative” had signed a contract in November 2024 with a Washington-based public relations firm, which paid $300,000 that was “apparently collected and disbursed outside AMCHAM Myanmar’s accounts.”
The report explicitly states, “The signature exceeded the signing limits of individual board representatives; the board never approved the agreement.”
It further noted, “AMCHAM Myanmar received no funds, made no payments, and received no services, and the matter was not disclosed to the statutory auditors.” While the report mentions the involvement of “two former members of the board,” it refrains from identifying them by name or detailing any legal actions taken by the organization.
A June 12 statement on the chamber’s website affirmed that the board “has taken appropriate steps to safeguard the interests of the organization and its members.”
Myanmar has been plagued by violence since the military’s 2021 coup, which ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and brutally suppressed subsequent nonviolent protests.
This has ignited armed resistance from pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority militias. Since the military takeover, there has been a notable increase in the detention of foreigners, particularly journalists covering the political crisis.
Castillo’s company, AGS Myanmar, founded in 2013, offers security, commercial cleaning, and pest control services.
His company biography identifies him as a former U.S. Marine officer who served in Afghanistan and the current chair of “Republican Overseas Myanmar,” established in 2024 to promote “America First policies in Myanmar and across the region.”
It remains unclear where Castillo had traveled before his return and subsequent detention. However, posts on his Instagram account indicate that the day prior to his arrest, he attended a business forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he also promoted his recently released memoir, “Finding Our Voice.”
The book’s synopsis describes it as recounting his experiences in Myanmar amidst the political turmoil, violence, and economic collapse that followed the army takeover.
It is not yet known whether the book played any role in his detention.
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