BANGKOK (AP) — The former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar was detained upon his return to Yangon, police said Monday, an arrest that came after the organization said it was looking into suspicious financial transactions by ex-board members.
Adam Castillo, a founder and owner of the security risk management firm AGS Myanmar, was detained Thursday at Yangon International Airport, said the spokesperson for Myanmar's Home Affairs Ministry, acting police Brig. Gen. Soe Lin Aung.
“He was arrested because there was a crime and a lawsuit,” he said, confirming reports but not elaborating further.
Castillo’s company told The Associated Press it was an “ongoing matter" and declined to comment further. Castillo did not respond to an email sent through his personal website.
The U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports that an American had been detained in Myanmar but could not comment further “due to privacy considerations.”
Myanmar's military-backed government hasn’t released any official statement, and the Yangon regional government office and the Yangon Regional Police Department did not answer requests for more details. Authorities in Myanmar, in the midst of civil war, rarely speak to international media.
But several outlets close to the military, including NP News, reported that Castillo had been arrested after the American Chamber of Commerce filed a complaint against him. He was president of the organization from 2023-2025.
Asked about the complaint, the chamber's executive director, Myat Phyu The, said she could not give details but said the organization’s May 29 annual report “covers the issue at hand.” The organization promotes American businesses.
The report says the current board last year uncovered suspect transactions “undertaken by former board representatives” purportedly on behalf of the chamber and referred 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 him $300,000 that was “apparently collected and disbursed outside AMCHAM Myanmar's accounts.”
“The signature exceeded the signing limits of individual board representatives, the board never approved the agreement,” the report reads. “AMCHAM Myanmar received no funds, made no payments, and received no services, and the matter was not disclosed to the statutory auditors.”
The report mentions that “two former members of the board” were involved in the case but does not identify either by name or say what legal action was taken by the organization. Myat Phyu The would not elaborate.
A June 12 statement on the organization’s website said the board “has taken appropriate steps to safeguard the interests of the organization and its members.”
Myanmar has been wracked by violence since the military ousted democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and brutally suppressed the nonviolent protests that followed. That triggered armed resistance by pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority militias seeking to oust the military rulers.
Since the military's takeover, Myanmar has seen a rise in reported detentions of foreigners, particularly foreign journalists covering the political crisis.
Founded in 2013, AGS Myanmar says on its website that in addition to security, it also provides services including commercial cleaning and pest control.
Castillo's company biography says he is a former U.S. Marine officer who served in Afghanistan, and current chair of “Republican Overseas Myanmar,” which it says was established in 2024 to promote “America First policies in Myanmar and across the region."
It was not immediately clear where Castillo had traveled before returning to Myanmar and being detained. However, posts on his Instagram account show that a day before his arrest he attended a business forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he also promoted a recently released book.
Castillo’s memoir, “Finding Our Voice,” recounts his experiences in Myanmar amid political turmoil, violence and economic collapse following the army takeover, according to its synopsis.
It was not clear whether the book played any role in his detention.
FILE - U.S. and Myanmar national flags are decorated at University of Yangon's convocation hall in Yangon, Myanmar, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — The leaders of the world’s richest democracies are talking about how to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems this week, but hot mics at the G7 summit revealed that conversations also covered lighter fare. Sports. Cigarettes. The weather. And something about Greenland?
As world leaders made their way into conference rooms at a lakeside resort, microphones set up for their weighty discussions about war and trade often caught off-the-cuff banter.
Trump strode in late to the final day of talks, and proclaimed “I'm the boss!” to his counterparts sitting around a large oval conference table, waiting to get started on a discussion about concerns that China is flooding export markets with subsidized products. The leaders laughed.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’ s smoking habits were the subject of a hot-mic moment on Tuesday. Asked by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz if she had already had a cigarette that morning, Meloni revealed that she hadn’t smoked “since the first of May.”
Her turn against tobacco prompted enthusiastic congratulations from leaders of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and the European Union. Meloni raised her hands in celebration. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had a question for her.
“Do you have a patch?” Carney asked, grabbing his own arm.
With the World Cup underway in the United States, Mexico and Canada, soccer naturally became a fallback of discussion.
As leaders gathered for lunch on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron and others weighed in. Someone shouted “Allez les bleus,” the cheer for the French team. Another leader can be heard talking about the recent Champions League victory by Paris-Saint Germain.
U.S. President Donald Trump turned attention to the UFC cage-match event he hosted at the White House on Sunday. Trump, who sat ringside on his 80th birthday, spoke glowingly about Dana White, the CEO of UFC.
At another point on Tuesday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer effused about Cape Verde’s surprise 0-0 draw against World Cup champion Spain. “Quite remarkable, I have to say,” he said.
In a moment of intrigue, Trump was caught on microphone talking with European Council President António Costa.
“You understand?” Trump said before pausing and looking squarely at Costa. “Greenland.” The start and end of the conversation was unclear.
European politicians have been outraged by Trump’s threats to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
Trump added some levity after Macron appeared to have left his watch behind when he departed the group’s working lunch on Tuesday. Carney drew attention to it, saying, “He’s left his watch here. We’ve got his watch.”
“Give me it if he left, gimme,” Trump chimed in, drawing laughs from the group.
There were a few instances of gift-giving diplomacy.
Macron gave all seven of his counterparts personalized bicycles to promote the Cycling World Championships scheduled next year in the French Alps, according to David Lappartient, president of the Union Cycliste Internationale, on social media.
There was no hot mic moment to detect the reaction of Trump, who is not known to bike and has joked about doing minimal exercise beyond regular golf outings.
Merz, who recently sparred with Trump over the war in Iran, presented Trump with a German national team soccer jersey bearing Trump’s name and the number 47. Trump raised it and smiled for a photo before setting it aside.
Merz posted a photo of the exchange on social media and offered a pointed message: “After all, we’re on the same team.”
Binkley reported from Washington and Superville from Geneva. Associated Press writer Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.
French President Emmanuel Macron stands next to President Donald Trump, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, at a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Christian Hartmann/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump listens to European Council President Antonio Costa, left, at a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Christian Hartmann/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Council President Antonio Costa and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attend a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Christian Hartmann/Pool Photo via AP)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, holds up a jersey with the number 47 on it as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz look on during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool)
