Viktor Bout’s high-profile arms trafficking career selling Soviet-era weapons worldwide was said to be the inspiration for the 2005 movie “Lord of War” starring actor Nicolas Cage, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 as the result of a US sting.
He was extradited to the US in 2012 and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was freed in a 2022 prisoner swap deal in exchange for US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was arrested by Moscow for possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil.
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It has now been reported that Bout is facilitating Moscow’s recent small arms deal with the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels who have been targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
The arms deal reportedly includes $10 million worth of automatic weapons, including an unspecified number of AK-74 assault rifles, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) citing “a European security official and other people familiar with the matter.”
Two Houthi representatives reportedly traveled to Moscow “under the cover of buying pesticides and vehicles and visited a Lada factory,” the WSJ reported.
WSJ said the deal – yet to be finalized and delivered – did not include anti-ship missiles as earlier reports suggested, though it added that the sale of Kornet anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft weapons was discussed.
The shipment is expected to take place as early as this month with delivery to Yemen’s port of Hodeidah under the disguise of grain or food cargo, sources told the WSJ.
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The same sources added that it was unclear if the deal was negotiated with the Kremlin’s explicit involvement. A Houthi spokesperson and the Kremlin did not respond to the WSJ’s request for comments.
Bout’s US lawyer Steve Zissou refused to discuss the alleged arms deal.
“Viktor Bout has not been in the transportation business for over twenty years,” Zissou told the WSJ, adding that the alleged deal, authorized by Moscow, should be considered to be “no different” than Washington’s weapon supplies to Kyiv.
Bout, a vocal supporter of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, served as a military translator in the USSR and is reportedly able to speak French, English, Arabic, Farsi and Portuguese.
Bout’s connection with the Soviet military allowed him to purchase several Soviet aircraft after the fall of the USSR to start an air freight business, which aided his arms trafficking activities, supplying weaponry to groups including rebel warlords worldwide.
Bout joined the Russian ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) after his return to Russia and subsequently won a seat in local elections.
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