US mercenary Matthew Aaron VanDyke got default bail on Friday, 18th September, in a case being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) linked to drone and weapons training for armed groups in Myanmar. A Delhi court granted him bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh and a surety of Rs 1 lakh.
American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke has been granted bail by a Special NIA Court in Delhi in a case involving alleged illegal entry into Myanmar and training ethnic armed groups in drone warfare. The bail came after the NIA's latest chargesheet against VanDyke and six… pic.twitter.com/itgcgranpu
— News18 (@CNNnews18) September 18, 2026
The NIA court at Rouse Avenue Court said VanDyke must stay in Delhi after his release and appear before the agency whenever he is called for questioning. The court also observed that the six Ukrainian nationals arrested in the same case would be entitled to bail on similar grounds.
Default bail is granted when an investigating agency does not file its chargesheet within the time allowed under law. VanDyke had approached the court seeking this relief, saying that the investigation had not been completed within the required period.
NIA chargesheet did not include UAPA sections
The development comes days after the NIA filed a chargesheet against VanDyke and the other accused earlier this month. The chargesheet did not include provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including the section related to conspiracy to commit terrorist acts.
Instead, the agency invoked the Immigration and Foreigners Act for offences linked to the entry and stay of foreign nationals in India.
However, the NIA later clarified that this did not mean the terror-related investigation had been closed. The agency said its probe into the accused’s links with armed groups in Myanmar was continuing. It also said supplementary chargesheets could be filed if further evidence is found.
The agency has also been looking into claims that the group may have been connected to a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in Myanmar. The exact incident being investigated has not been made clear.
Arrest over Myanmar training
VanDyke was arrested at Kolkata airport on 13th March, 2026. Six Ukrainian nationals, Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi were also arrested at airports in Delhi and Lucknow.
The NIA said the group travelled to Mizoram without the required permit for foreigners and then crossed into Myanmar. The agency said they came into contact with ethnic armed groups there and provided training in weapons use and drone operations.
The investigation also includes claims that drones were brought from Europe for the training. The case initially included UAPA charges over the suspected terrorist conspiracy, though those sections were not included in the chargesheet filed earlier this month.
Who is Matthew VanDyke?
VanDyke is an American national with a history of involvement in armed conflicts and military training. He became known during the 2011 Libyan civil war after joining forces fighting Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war before being released after Gaddafi’s fall.
He later said he fought against the Islamic State in Iraq and became involved in training Ukrainian civilians and military personnel after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He is also the founder of Sons of Liberty International, an organisation that says it provides security and military training.
With VanDyke now out on default bail, the NIA’s investigation into his Myanmar activities and the possible terror links remains ongoing.
