An order issued by the FRRO on 18 September 2026 allows the immigration-related offences against all seven accused to be compounded at Rs 5.5 lakh each. The amount comprises Rs 5 lakh for the offence under Section 21 and Rs 50,000 for the offence under Section 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

The amount is to be realised within 15 days. In simple terms, compounding means that the specified immigration offences are being disposed of through payment of the amount fixed by the FRRO, instead of the prosecution for those particular offences continuing. The order, however, makes clear that the compounding is limited to the offences covered by it and does not affect any other liability, investigation, inquiry, prosecution or proceeding relating to any other offence or violation.

The seven accused named in the FRRO order are Van Dyke, a US passport holder, and Ukrainian nationals Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksym Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi. The order says they were arrested on 13 March 2026 from Kolkata, Lucknow and Delhi airports. The FRRO order records the National Investigation Agency's account of the events that led to the immigration case.

According to the order, the seven travelled to Mizoram on 27 December 2025 without obtaining the mandatory Protected Area Permit. They stayed there for two days and, on 29 December, crossed the India-Myanmar border through an unauthorised port. The order records the NIA's account that the purpose of the crossing was to undertake a pre-scheduled training involving drone warfare, drone operation, assembly and jamming technology for ethnic armed groups in Myanmar.

According to the order, the seven subsequently re-entered Mizoram illegally on 5 March 2026. The allegations concerning the Myanmar trip are contained in the NIA's account recorded in the FRRO order and are not a finding of guilt by the court. The NIA filed a chargesheet against all seven on 8 September 2026 under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. The FRRO order records that the NIA gave its no-objection to the compounding of the immigration-related offences.

The FRRO's order does not bring the wider case to an end. It specifically states that the compounding does not affect proceedings concerning any other offence under the Immigration and Foreigners Act or any other law. The separate order passed by the Special NIA Court in Delhi on 18 September 2026 records that the investigation into the Section 18 UAPA allegation was still continuing when the NIA filed its chargesheet. Van Dyke was arrested on 13 March 2026 and the court recorded that the 180-day period for completing the investigation ended on 8 September.

The NIA filed its chargesheet on that date, but the court noted that the chargesheet covered Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act while the investigation concerning the Section 18 UAPA offence remained incomplete. The court described the chargesheet as "piecemeal" in the context of Van Dyke's application for default bail and held that an incomplete chargesheet could not be used to defeat his statutory right to default bail while the UAPA investigation remained pending.

The court granted Van Dyke default bail on a personal bond and surety bond of Rs 1 lakh each. Among the conditions imposed were restrictions on leaving Delhi and India, a direction not to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence, and an obligation to remain available to the investigating agency when required. In a significant observation, the court also said that the co-accused were also entitled to default bail on the same understanding of the law and facts. It directed that copies of the order be sent to those who remained in custody through the concerned jail superintendent so that they could exercise their legal right.