Former American Chamber chief detained in Myanmar after returning to Yangon

Adam Castillo, the former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, was detained at Yangon International Airport after returning to Yangon, placing a corporate governance dispute inside one of Asia’s most opaque and politically volatile environments. Castillo, who served as chamber president from 2023 to 2025, also founded the security risk management firm AGS Myanmar in 2013 and had spent years building a profile around operating in the country’s high-risk business climate.

The detention came as the chamber said it was investigating suspicious financial transactions involving former board members. Its May 29 annual report said the current board uncovered suspect transactions undertaken by former board representatives and referred the matter to a law firm for review. Accounts tied to the dispute have put the alleged unauthorized payments at about $300,000. The chamber is based at Junction City Tower in Pabedan Township, Yangon, and its executive director, Myat Phyu The, said she could not provide details on the case.

Castillo had recently been abroad promoting his book, Finding Our Voice: A Story of Leadership in Crisis and the American Spirit Abroad, which centers on staying in Myanmar after the 2021 military coup. That timing has sharpened scrutiny of the case, because it sits at the intersection of chamber politics, financial oversight and the personal risks faced by foreign business leaders operating under military rule. Several outlets close to the military said Castillo was arrested after the chamber filed a complaint against him.

The wider backdrop is a country where legal process is thin and the state’s public messaging is often scarce. Myanmar’s military-backed government has not issued an official statement, and the Yangon regional government office and police did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Department of State said it was aware of reports that an American had been detained in Myanmar but could not comment further because of privacy considerations. Its guidance for detained U.S. citizens says it can assist them, but cannot get them out of detention or provide legal representation.

The case lands in a country already deep in crisis. In January 2026, the U.N. said Myanmar’s situation had worsened, with escalating violence, mass displacement and a military-controlled political process. The State Department’s 2021 investment climate report on Burma warned that foreign companies faced a lack of rule of law, random violence by regime forces and arbitrary detentions of businesspeople without charges. For foreign executives and local partners alike, Castillo’s detention underscores how quickly a commercial dispute in Myanmar can become a matter of political leverage, personal security and legal uncertainty.