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Myanmar drops extradition case against AmCham ex-board member, cancels Interpol red notice · Best of: Features

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  Myanmar drops extradition case against Amchem board member canceled Interpol red notice
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  Written by David Rising This article is being read by an automated
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  voice generated by Everlet. Bangkok, the AP. Myanmar has dropped
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  its case against a former American Chamber of Commerce board member, and
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  cancelled an Interpol red notice for his arrest, saying that its investigation
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  concluded that there wasn't enough evidence to support his extradition. Misfit Technologies
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  CEO Munimul Islam was detained upon his arrival at the International Airport
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  in Barcelona, Spain, in late September at the request of Myanmar's officials
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  investigating a complaint by the Amcham Myanmar. Islam was beginning a vacation
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  with his wife and children at the time. Spanish judicial authorities said,
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  in a document dated october twenty sixth, that they had dropped all
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  legal proceedings against Islam, who had been freed on bail earlier in
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  October, after being informed of Myanmar's decision. This case exposes serious weaknesses
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  in Interpol's safeguards, allowing a military regime to trigger detention in a
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  European democracy over unsubstantiated allegations. Islam, a Bangladesh national, told the Associated
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  Press on Monday. Paris based Interpol told the AP that only Myanmar
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  authorities could provide information on the case. Acting Police Brigadier General So
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  Lin Ong, a spokesperson for Myanmar's Home Affairs Ministry, which oversees the
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  country's police forces, wouldn't comment on specifics, saying only that all the
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  cases have been concluded before hanging up. Month's long case garnered international
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  attention. The case began as an internal Amcham Myanmar dispute, with the
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  current board accusing Islam, former Board President Adam Castillo, an American, and
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  former Executive Director Yi Kong Danny Kaya, an Australian, of financial impropriety
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  for the hiring of an American public relations firm to assist in
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  lobbying efforts in Washington. It garnered international attention after authorities began investigating
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  it as a criminal case, and arrested Castillo and Yeh Kaunkyah and
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  issued the Red Notice for Islam, who lives in the United Kingdom.
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  US President Donald Trump's administration the stepped in and sent a delegation
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  to Myanmar to secure Castillo's release and return to the United States
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  in September, and Ye Kaung Kiao was deported after pleading guilty to
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  breach of trust, which he said was done under pressure from authorities.
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  Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war, is headed by President
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  Min Ong Hlaang, who led the group of military officers that seized
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  control from The
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  democratically elected leader, Ong San Suu Ki, in 2021. The country is
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  widely sanctioned, and Min Ong Leang has been on a charm offensive
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  recently to try and win more international support for his government. When
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  Castillo was released, the state run global New Light of Myanmar newspaper
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  said that the government's primary goal was friendly bilateral relations with the
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  US. The President's spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment on
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  the decision not to pursue the case against Islam. Case centered on
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  lobbying efforts in Washington, The, original Amcham complaint centered on Castillo's creation
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  of the U.S. Burma Economic Forum as a lobbying organization for the
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  chamber, he served as president from 2023 to 2025, in the 2024
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  contract Castillo signed with Mercury Public Affairs. Msham Myanmar maintains that Castillo’s
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  illegally collected 300,000 using the association's name to enlist Mix Mercury to
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  assist in lobbying efforts without approval from The
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  current board. Mayat Futhi, the Executive Director of Amcham Myanmar, didn't respond
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  to a request for comment on Islam's case, but previously said that
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  the concern was that transaction could bring potential legal, financial, and criminal
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  exposure to the organization and current board. A signed board resolution, provided
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  by Castillo's supporters, indicated that the board had approved the lobbying initiative,
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  but Am Cham Myanmar maintains that the document is a fake. The
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  AMSHAM also maintained it had received no services, but the AP confirmed
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  that Mercury did organize and attend multiple meetings in Washington, with Castillo
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  and others. Mercury also declared all payments to American authorities as required
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  under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, with reports available online to the public.
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  Ex board member says all payments declared and above board. The three
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  hundred thousand dollars came entirely from Islam's company and was paid in
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  installments. He questioned how the payments could have exposed the current Amcham
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  to legal issues in Myanmar, which has strict foreign current restrictions, noting
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  he hadn't been a Myanmar resident since twenty twenty two and that
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  the funds were paid by his company's US operation. His contention appears
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  supported in the official finding by Myanmar authorities, who wrote to their
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  Spanish counterparts that they had concluded Islam merely carried out corporate invoicing
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  and disbursement directives while based abroad. Islam forty said that while he
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  is relieved that the case is over, he is certainly not satisfied
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  with the outcome, and was exploring what legal action he could take
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  against Amcham and the current board members involved. I spent fourteen days
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  detained, separated from my two infant daughters, causing enormous emotional, financial, and
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  reputational harm, he said. My freedom has been restored, but the damage
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  remains. I want accountability and safeguards, so no other innocent family endures
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  this.