People of Note: Victor Bout

Also known as “The Merchant of Death,” Victor Bout is a notorious Russian arms dealer who illegally provides weapons and military equipment to the highest bidders throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East.

Bouts origins are somewhat mysterious. It is believed that he was born in 1967 to two Russian parents, but his actual birthplace is disputed (he is sometimes listed as Ukrainian in descent). At some point he joined the Russian military (it is not known when) and worked as a navigator, eventually expanding his duties to include the training of Air Force commando troops.

In 1991 Bout graduated from Moscow’s Military Institute after studying foreign languages (he is reputedly fluent in at least six, including Russian, English, French, Portuguese and Uzbek) and went to work as a translator for the Russian Army. This didn’t last, however, as the base where he was stationed was dissolved following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Bout and his colleagues were out of work, but not for long. The enterprising Bout was highly trained, had access to military equipment and possessed a rolodex full of international contacts.

Bout started by founding the Transavia Export Cargo Company, aiding Belgian soldiers in Somalia. In exchange for a cut of the profits, the GRU (Russia’s intelligence branch) loaned Bout three Antonov airplanes. He used these aircraft to supply the Islamic State of Afghanistan (known now as the Northern Alliance) with ammunition and weapons, making an alleged $50 million. With this money he founded the Trans Aviation Network Group in Belgium.

In 1995 the Taliban drove the Islamic State of Afghanistan out of Kabul. This didn’t stop Bout. No, he had just found a new customer in the Taliban. Around this time word of Bout’s shady empire reached the Belgian government, and they started to investigate. He was forced to move his operation to the United Arab Emirates, where he founded Air Cess.

He used Air Cess to supply African conflicts with “thousands upon thousands of assault rifles, grenade launchers, bullets and other weapons,” according to UN officials. His dealings extended to conflicts in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Charles Taylor’s regime in Liberia, Libya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland and Uganda.

Former British Foreign Office Minister Peter Hain, the man who invented the nickname “Merchant of Death,” has said this of Bout: “Bout is the leading merchant of death who is the principal conduit for planes and supply routes that take arms, including heavy military equipment, from East Europe, principally Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine, to Liberia and Angola. The UN has exposed Bout as the center of a spider’s web of shady arms dealers, diamond brokers, and other operatives, sustaining wars. Without someone like him we would be much, much closer to ending the conflicts. If there was ever a man for the US to assassinate, he is that man.”

Over the years Bout has built a large network of contacts in both business and politics. This fact, along with his carefully disguised dealings and his constant movement, has made it difficult for authorities to build a case against him. In 2002 he was finally formally charged and warrants were issued for his arrest. He moved to Russia where he remains protected by the Russian Constitution, which doesn’t allow for the extradition of citizens to foreign countries.

Victor Bout is still at large.

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