A Bangladeshi technology entrepreneur detained in Spain under an INTERPOL Red Notice requested by Myanmar has been released after the country closed its investigation and abandoned extradition proceedings, reports AMCHAM Myanmar.
Munimul Islam, CEO of international technology company Misfit Technologies and co-founder of Bangladesh's agricultural technology platform iFarmer, was detained at Barcelona–El Prat Airport on September 29, while arriving from London for a short holiday with his wife.
According to a report by Mizzima on Tuesday, he spent 14 nights in Spanish detention before being released on October 13. His passport was retained, and he remained subject to judicial restrictions while Spanish authorities awaited a response from Myanmar.
The allegations originated within the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar (AMCHAM Myanmar) and centred on a $300,000 lobbying engagement with Washington-based Mercury Public Affairs.
Former AMCHAM president Adam Michael Castillo signed the lobbying agreement, while Munimul's company financed the engagement through direct payments to Mercury.
An Associated Press investigation found that payment records and US lobbying disclosures contradicted significant elements of the allegations. The news agency also confirmed that Mercury had organised meetings in Washington.
Approximately $300,000 was paid directly to Mercury by Misfit Technologies' US operations rather than transferred through AMCHAM Myanmar's accounts. The payments were disclosed under US lobbying reporting requirements.
AMCHAM's subsequent leadership maintained that the arrangement lacked proper authorisation and raised governance concerns.
Before criminal proceedings began, Castillo and Islam had engaged legal counsel and prepared a defamation action against the chamber's leadership.
Reporting by The Wall Street Journal described how AMCHAM president Khin Maung Win acknowledged that the threatened legal action influenced the chamber's decision to approach Myanmar police.
The dispute eventually led to criminal proceedings against Castillo, former executive director Danny Kyaw and Islam.
On October 29, Spanish newspaper El País reported that Myanmar had informed Spain's Audiencia Nacional that it had closed the case against Munimul and was no longer seeking his extradition. The Spanish court subsequently archived the proceedings and ordered the restrictions against him lifted.
The outcome has raised questions about how an internal commercial dispute involving an American business organisation became the basis for an international police alert.
On October 12, 2026, El País reported that it had reviewed a confidential assessment prepared by the Bangladesh Embassy concerning the AMCHAM Myanmar dispute.
According to the newspaper, the diplomatic assessment concluded that AMCHAM's governing body had approved the lobbying initiative and Misfit Technologies' role as an external sponsor responsible for making direct payments to Mercury in the United States.
The assessment also identified an apparent contradiction involving board members who had supported the arrangement but subsequently participated in pursuing criminal proceedings.
These findings challenged central elements of the allegations and added to questions raised by the Associated Press investigation. However, the embassy's assessment was a diplomatic examination of the available documentation, not a judicial ruling.
Castillo, an American citizen and former US Marine, was detained in Myanmar on June 11, 2026, and spent approximately 97 days in custody.
His release on September 16 followed intervention by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Vice President JD Vance became involved in efforts to secure Castillo's freedom, while Trump's support helped facilitate a US diplomatic mission to Myanmar.
Reuters subsequently confirmed that senior US officials travelled to Myanmar and met with its military-backed leadership to secure Castillo's release. His sister publicly thanked Trump and Vance for their involvement.
Myanmar's Pabedan Township Court formally closed Castillo's criminal case on September 18, citing his departure in the context of bilateral relations with the United States.
Castillo later called for Islam's release and urged Spanish authorities and INTERPOL to scrutinise the allegations.
Australian former AMCHAM executive director Danny Kyaw was also detained in June. He was released on September 21 after entering a guilty plea, which he subsequently said had been made under pressure to secure his freedom.
Both Castillo and Kyaw provided witness statements supporting Islam's defence in Spain, raising concerns about the conduct of Myanmar's criminal proceedings.
INTERPOL Red Notices are designed to help law enforcement agencies locate individuals wanted for prosecution or to serve criminal sentences. They are not international arrest warrants.
INTERPOL's Constitution expressly prohibits the organisation from undertaking activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
Nevertheless, international human rights organisations have documented concerns about governments using INTERPOL mechanisms to pursue political opponents, activists and other individuals abroad.
Cases involving Russian requests against businessman Bill Browder, Belarusian requests targeting activist Andrei Hniot and China's former Red Notice against Uyghur activist Dolkun Isa have contributed to longstanding scrutiny of the system.
Islam's case adds another example warranting examination.
The original allegations concerned the authorisation and financing of a lobbying contract. However, the resulting Red Notice led to the detention of a businessman residing in the United Kingdom while visiting a European country, exposing him to possible extradition to Myanmar's military-controlled judicial system.
Myanmar ultimately informed Spain that its investigation had not established a criminal case against Islam.
The sequence raises questions about the evidentiary screening of Red Notice requests, the handling of requests from countries with serious human rights concerns and the safeguards available to individuals before international police cooperation results in detention.
There is no public finding establishing that INTERPOL knowingly facilitated an abusive request. The issue, however, is whether its safeguards were sufficient to prevent the consequences in this case.
Munimul has subsequently reported receiving confirmation that the Red Notice was deleted, although independent written confirmation has not been reviewed for this briefing.
Munimul is a Bangladeshi entrepreneur with business interests across Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Misfit has operated in six countries, providing technology to telecommunications operators, banks, financial institutions and other organisations.
Its electronic Know Your Customer technology has supported major telecommunications operations in Myanmar, while its solutions in Bangladesh incorporate national identity document recognition and facial verification.
Misfit's US operations form part of its international business activities and financed the Mercury Public Affairs engagement directly, with the payments reported under US lobbying disclosure requirements.
Munimul's detention disrupted what was intended to be a short holiday and separated him from his two young daughters, who remained in the United Kingdom during his imprisonment.
His British wife subsequently travelled to Spain with their children as the family attempted to secure his release.
The Bangladesh Consulate in Barcelona provided assistance, including arrangements for temporary accommodation.
Beyond the loss of liberty, the proceedings resulted in substantial legal and living expenses, interrupted his business activities and exposed him to international allegations of financial misconduct.
Although the Spanish case has now been closed, the consequences for Munimul and his family extended well beyond his period of imprisonment.