{"id":41410,"date":"2022-12-11T11:14:24","date_gmt":"2022-12-11T11:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda"},"modified":"2022-12-11T11:52:40","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T11:52:40","slug":"us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda","title":{"rendered":"US frees arms dealer with links to Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>A renowned Russian arms dealer at the centre of a prisoner swap effected on Thursday involving US basketball player Brittney Griner has opened old wounds the world over, including Uganda.<\/p>\n

Mr Viktor Bout, whose \u201cMerchant of Death\u201d moniker leaves nothing to one\u2019s imagination, was released after serving 12 years of a 25-year prison term. At the height of his business, Mr Bout sold weapons to Uganda and secretly moved them to conflict zones via Entebbe International Airport.<\/p>\n

He frequently used Uganda as a conduit for the weaponry he was smuggling, especially to West Africa, according to a United Nations (UN) report.<\/p>\n

According to a 2000 UN investigation, Mr Bout had dealings with individuals from Rwanda and Uganda.<\/p>\n

The Russian engaged in the trade of unlawfully mined diamonds from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n

A 2002 UN Security Council report titled \u201cPlundering of DR Congo natural resources: Final report of the Panel of Experts\u201d highlights his relationship with Ugandan authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs in the past, the network continues to involve the transnational criminal group of Victor Bout. Mr Bout recently purchased the Uganda-based non-operational airline company Okapi Air. The purchase of the company allowed Victor Bout to use Okapi\u2019s licences. The company was subsequently renamed Odessa,\u201d the report reads in part.<\/p>\n

It further adds: \u201cThe Panel is in possession of a list of outbound flights from 1998 to the beginning of 2002 from Entebbe International Airport, which confirms the operational activities of Mr Bout\u2019s aircraft from Ugandan territory. Currently, Mr Bout\u2019s aircraft share the flight times and destinations (slots) with Planet Air, which is owned by the wife of Lt Gen [now General] Salim Saleh and which facilitates the activities of Mr Bout by filing flight plans for his aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report also revealed that Mr Bout \u201cconducted a covert cargo air transport operation under the guise of a camouflage airline.\u201d<\/p>\n

It proceeds to note that \u201cAir Cess identified as the flagship firm of Victor Bout\u2019s network had operations in Entebbe, according to OpenSanctions, an open-source database of sanctions data, politically exposed persons, and other entities of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigations by authorities in Belgium, Swaziland, and South Africa showed that it was initially operating in Belgium, but had to relocate more than once since it originally surfaced in 1995.<\/p>\n

It was the only company in Mr Bout\u2019s network that ever listed him as its CEO. He established Air Pass in Swaziland through a partnership with a South African business.<\/p>\n

In this joint venture, Air Cess held a 90 percent stake. According to the records, Mr Bout owned 90 percent of the Air Pass shares.<\/p>\n

Viktor Bout reportedly gave his brother, Sergei Bout, daily operational responsibility of Air Cess at some point in the 1990s, according to NGO reports.<\/p>\n

Mr Bout was arrested at a hotel in Bangkok, the Thai capital. Two years later, he was extradited to the United States where he spent 12 years in and for conspiring to support terrorists and kill Americans.<\/p>\n

The 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War, which was partially based on his life, was inspired by his dealings.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. A renowned Russian arms dealer at the centre of a prisoner swap effected on Thursday involving US basketball player Brittney Griner has opened old wounds the world over, including Uganda. Mr Viktor Bout, whose \u201cMerchant of Death\u201d moniker leaves nothing to one\u2019s imagination, was released after serving 12 years of a 25-year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":41409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-41410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nUS frees arms dealer with links to Uganda - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A renowned Russian arms dealer at the centre of a prisoner swap effected on Thursday involving US basketball player Brit ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US frees arms dealer with links to Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A renowned Russian arms dealer at the centre of a prisoner swap effected on Thursday involving US basketball player Brit ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-11T11:14:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-11T11:52:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1670744672.70.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"US frees arms dealer with links to Uganda\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-11T11:14:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-11T11:52:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda\"},\"wordCount\":528,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1670744672.70.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/us-frees-arms-dealer-with-links-to-uganda\",\"name\":\"US frees arms dealer with links to Uganda - 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