An Australian businessperson who served as executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar has been released from jail after more than 100 days in detention over allegations of financial misappropriation, a Myanmar legal official said Wednesday.
Ye Khaung Kyaw, also known as Danny, was released following a court ruling in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, according to a legal official familiar with the case. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose information.
Ye Khaung Kyaw and two other men charged in connection with the case have denied the allegations, saying they are baseless.
Acting Police Brig. Gen. Soe Lin Aung, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s Home Affairs Ministry, confirmed that the court concluded proceedings in Ye Khaung Kyaw’s case on Tuesday but declined to provide further details.
It remains unclear whether he was convicted, had the charges dismissed or withdrawn, or was ordered to leave the country.
Ye Khaung Kyaw was detained in June, around the same time as former chamber president Adam Castillo, a U.S. businessperson who was released last week and deported without explanation.
The chamber’s current board accused Ye Khaung Kyaw, Castillo and former board member Munimul Islam of breach of trust and misappropriation of association assets linked to a $300,000 contract with Washington-based lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs.
Islam lives outside Myanmar and has not been detained. The chamber is commonly known as AmCham.
Myanmar’s military-backed government issued no official statement on Ye Khaung Kyaw’s release.
Officials at the court and the police station in Yangon’s Pabedan township, where Ye Khaung Kyaw stood trial, did not respond to requests for comment. Authorities in Myanmar, which is currently experiencing a civil war, rarely comment to international media.
Supporters of the three men have said the allegations are baseless and contradicted by documentary evidence.
The police complaint did not specify Ye Khaung Kyaw’s exact role in the alleged misconduct during his tenure as executive director.
AmCham’s complaint focused on Castillo’s creation of the U.S.-Burma Economic Forum as a lobbying organization during his presidency from 2023 to 2025 and a contract signed with Mercury in 2024.
In its annual report issued in May, AmCham accused Castillo of improperly collecting funds using the association’s name. The chamber said its board had neither approved the agreement nor received any money or services under it, and that the matter had not been disclosed to auditors.
However, documents from AmCham obtained by The Associated Press appear to contradict the annual report.
A signed board resolution showed that the board had approved the lobbying initiative, authorized the hiring of Mercury and agreed that Islam’s company, Misfit Technologies, would provide sponsorship.
Current AmCham Executive Director Myat Phyu The described the resolution as a fabrication, although other records on the chamber’s website indicated that the board was aware of the arrangement.
An employee of Misfit, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about professional retaliation, said fees were paid through Misfit’s U.S. office because American sanctions made payments from Myanmar nearly impossible.
Mercury disclosed the payments to U.S. authorities under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
Australia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that it had provided consular assistance to an Australian citizen in Myanmar but declined to provide further details, citing privacy obligations.