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Viktor Bout

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Sanctions Buster
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Sanctions Buster
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Viktor Bulakin<ref name="United States of America v. Viktor Bout"/>
Viktor Butt<ref name="United States of America v. Viktor Bout"/>
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Viktor Anatolyevich BoutTemplate:Family name footnote (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx; born 13 January 1967) is a Russian arms dealer and politician. A weapons manufacturer and former Soviet military translator, he used his companies to smuggle arms from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East during the 1990s and early 2000s. Bout gained the nicknames the "Merchant of Death" and "Sanctions Buster" after British minister Peter Hain read a report to the United Nations in 2003 on Bout's wide-reaching operations, extensive clientele, and willingness to bypass embargoes.

In a 2008 US sting operation Bout was arrested in Thailand on terrorism charges by the Royal Thai Police in cooperation with American authorities and Interpol. The United States Ambassador to Thailand Eric G. John requested his extradition, which was mandated by the Supreme Court of Thailand in 2010. Bout was accused of intending to sell arms to a United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informer pretending to represent the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for use against American forces in Colombia, but Bout denied the charges and predicted an acquittal.

In 2011 Bout was convicted by a jury at a federal court in Manhattan, of conspiracy to kill American citizens and officials, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization; he was sentenced to the minimum 25 years' imprisonment. From 2012 until 2022, Bout was held at the United States Penitentiary, Marion. In 2022, he was released in a prisoner exchange for American basketball player Brittney Griner, who had been sentenced, in August 2022, to 9 years of imprisonment for bringing 0.7g<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of cannabis oil into Russia. Bout had served 10 years in prison before his release in December 2022.

After returning to Russia, Bout joined the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia in 2022 and won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ulyanovsk Oblast as a member of the LDPR on 2 July 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Early lifeEdit

Bout's origins are unclear. United Nations documents and Bout himself both state his birthplace as Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union (now the capital of Tajikistan), and that his date of birth is most likely 13 January 1967, although several other dates are possible.<ref name="NYT">Arms and the Man Template:Webarchive New York Times, 17 August 2003</ref><ref name="Four">"Meeting Viktor Bout, the 'Merchant of Death'" Template:Webarchive, BBC Channel 4 Snowblog, 16 March 2009</ref><ref name="Bout"/><ref name="UNad">Addendum to the final report of the Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA Template:Webarchive S/2001/363</ref><ref name=de1>Trapping the Lord of War, The Rise and Fall of Viktor Bout Template:Webarchive Part 2: Secretive about His Past. spiegel.de, 6 October 2055</ref><ref name="ethz"/> He has an older brother named Sergei Bout.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Schmidle>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Bout became a Russian citizen following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.<ref>"The Merchant of Death" Template:Webarchive. Foreign Policy.</ref><ref name="merchant">Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun: "The Merchant of Death" Template:Webarchive. (PDF).</ref><ref name="ethz" /> According to the UN Security Council Committee on Liberia, Bout holds at least four passports.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A number of sources referred to Bout as a Tajik national or Tajik-born.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Military careerEdit

Bout served in the Soviet Armed Forces. There is no definite information on his military career except that he graduated from the Soviet Military Institute of Foreign Languages in the late 1980s.<ref name="UNad" /><ref name="christsci" /><ref name="de" /> Bout's training allowed him to become a polyglot and master five foreign languages: Portuguese, English, French, Arabic, and Farsi. He is reported to be fluent in Esperanto, which he learned at age 12 in the early 1980s as a member of the Dushanbe Esperanto club.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Economist1">Viktor Bout arrested Template:Webarchive The Economist, 13 March 2008</ref><ref>"Viktor Bout, seigneur de guerres" Template:Webarchive, L'Express, 24 April 2009</ref><ref>"Un trafiquant d'arme, polyglotte émérite, était espérantophone dans sa jeunesse!" Template:Webarchive AgoraVox, 12 May 2009</ref><ref>"Komercisto de la morto" estas esperantisto Template:Webarchive Libera Folio, 5 May 2009</ref> Bout's personal website stated that he served in the Soviet Army as a translator, holding the rank of lieutenant.<ref name="Bout FAQ">Victor Bout's Personal Website, FAQ Template:Webarchive. Victorbout.com.</ref>

It is unknown what rank Bout held while in military. In a radio interview with Radio Echo Moskvy, Bout himself said he retired with "an officer's rank." Other reports identified Bout as a former major.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Bout is thought to have been discharged from the Soviet Army upon its dissolution in 1991 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, whereupon he started an air freight business.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Other sources state he was a major in the GRU, an officer in the Soviet Air Forces, that he graduated from a Soviet military intelligence training program, or an operative of the KGB.<ref name="Economist">"Flying Anything to Anybody" Template:Webarchive, The Economist, 18 December 2008</ref><ref name="Observer"/><ref name="NYT"/><ref name=de1/>

Bout was involved with a Soviet military operation in Angola in the late 1980s assisting the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the Angolan Civil War. He has stated that he was in Angola only for a few weeks.<ref name="NYT"/><ref name="UNad"/><ref name="christsci"/><ref name=merchant-death-book /> During this time in Africa he went on to learn the Xhosa and Zulu languages.<ref name=":1" /> His time in Africa also included a two-year stint in Mozambique.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Post-Soviet eraEdit

1990sEdit

It is believed that Bout as a former member of the Soviet military was perfectly positioned to purchase surplus Soviet-era military equipment, including three Antonov An-12 aircraft, in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. According to Bout's personal website, he founded an air freight business, Air Cess, in Liberia in 1995.<ref name=":1" /> Air Cess is the only company connected to Bout that has ever officially recognized him as the head.<ref name=":0" /> He operated four Antonov An-8 planes in Angola as it was the only country to allow the An-8 to be used in civilian freight at the time.<ref name="Bout">Victor Bout's Personal Website Template:Webarchive. Victorbout.com.</ref> Reportedly, Bout's companies legally provided air freight services to the French government, the United Nations, and the United States, including transporting flowers, frozen chicken, UN peacekeepers, French soldiers, and African heads of state.<ref name="Economist"/><ref name="NYT"/><ref name="merchant"/><ref name=de>Trapping the Lord of War, The Rise and Fall of Viktor Bout Template:Webarchive Part 1. spiegel.de, 6 October 2010</ref><ref name="Mother"/><ref name="russian add1"/> Around this time, Bout earned the nickname of "Sanctions Buster" due to his implication in facilitating the violation of United Nations arms embargoes in the western African countries of Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref name="Amnesty">Stop Ruthless Arms Brokers that Fuel Deadly Conflicts Amnesty International USA</ref>

Bout acknowledges traveling to Afghanistan on numerous occasions during the 1990s, but has denied dealing with al-Qaeda or the Taliban.<ref name="Four"/><ref>"Viktor Bout: five passports, half a dozen languages and alleged friend to all sides" Template:Webarchive. Guardian.</ref><ref name="CNN">Transcript of American Morning with Paula Zahn Template:Webarchive, 4 March 2002 (air date)</ref> Beginning in 1994, Bout made shipments for the pre-Taliban government of Afghanistan, which later became the Northern Alliance, and knew one of its commanders, Ahmad Shah Massoud. The Central Intelligence Agency described Bout-owned planes as transporters of small arms and ammunition into Afghanistan.<ref name="NYT"/><ref name=merchant-death-book/><ref name="CNN"/> In 1995, Bout was involved in negotiations to free Russian hostages during the 1995 Airstan incident.<ref name="Braun.Farah-60-65">Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Centrafican IL-76T TL-ADH (6822783607).jpg
An Il-76 formerly used by Bout's Centrafrican Airlines
File:Ilyushin Il-76 AN0197520.jpg
An Il-76 formerly used by Air Cess and Air Pass, a joint venture between Bout and a South African company<ref name=":0" />

In 2000, a United Nations report stated, "Bulgarian arms manufacturing companies had exported large quantities of different types of weapons between 1996 and 1998 on the basis of (forged<ref name="UNad"/>) end-user certificates from Togo",<ref name="UNcopy"/> and that "with only one exception, the company Air Cess, owned by Victor Bout, was the main transporter of these weapons from Burgas airport in Bulgaria".<ref name="UNcopy">Copy of the text of S/2000/1225 Template:Webarchive Final report of the Monitoring Mechanism on Angola Sanctions, UN Security Council, 21 December 2000</ref> This was the first time Bout was formally mentioned in connection with arms trafficking. The weapons may have been destined for use in the Angolan Civil War by UNITA, the opposing faction of the MPLA which Bout had aided during his military service.<ref name="UNcopy"/><ref name=de2>Trapping the Lord of War, The Rise and Fall of Viktor Bout Template:Webarchive Part 3: The Respected 'Mister Vik'. spiegel.de, 6 October 2010</ref>

Another suspected arms dealer, Imad Kebir, is said to have employed Bout's aircraft during the mid-1990s to transport weapons to Africa from Eastern European states.<ref name="Dollars">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Alternate archive at Bellingcat</ref> The cargo supposedly had end-user certificates from Zaire, but the true end-user was UNITA in neighboring Angola.<ref name="Dollars"/> From 1993, UNITA was covered under Resolution 864, a United Nations Security Council embargo prohibiting the importation of arms to Angola.<ref name="UN2">UN Security Council Resolution 864Template:Dead link, PDF. 1993</ref>

In Liberia, Bout was suspected of supplying Charles Taylor with arms for use in the First Liberian Civil War, with eyewitnesses claiming that the two met personally.<ref>"Merchant of death: money, guns, planes, and the man who makes war possible". Douglas Farah, Stephen Braun. p. 164</ref>

In 1993, Bout began collaborating with Richard Chichakli. In 1995 the Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates hired Chichakli to be the commercial manager of its new free-trade zone.<ref name=chic>Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible (2007), pp. 53–56</ref> Bout began using the UAE's free trade zone, and Chichakli was, at one time, called Bout's "financial manager" by the United States.<ref>"Viktor Bout – elusive entrepreneur" Template:Webarchive. Financial Times. 6 March 2008</ref>

Supposedly, Bout had been involved with arms dealings during the Yugoslav Wars, especially with the Bosnian government forces during its uprising against the Milošević government in Yugoslavia. Hasan Čengić, who was the former Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is allegedly one of his former contacts. They came into contact with each other as they both stayed in Tehran during the 1980s and 1990s. The Slobodna Bosna newspaper claims that Čengić was a business partner of Bout since then, when 200,000 AK-47 rifles went missing in transit from Bosnia to Iraq in May 2006. One of Bout's airlines was the carrier.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2000sEdit

After the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan, Bout appeared in Moscow and stated that his aircraft made regular flights to Afghanistan, but continued to deny any contact with al-Qaeda or the Taliban—instead supplying the rebel Northern Alliance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Soon after the beginning of the War in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda is said to have moved gold and cash out of Afghanistan.<ref name="Dollars"/> In July 2003, The New York Times interviewed Bout, who stated that "I woke up after Sept. 11 and found I was second only to Osama."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2004, Bout and Chichakli allegedly set up Samar Airlines in Tajikistan to conduct money laundering activities and protect assets from authorities, according to an indictment by the U.S. Justice Department in 2010.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bout is suspected of supplying weapons to numerous armed groups in Africa in the 2000s, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Second Congo War. He may have employed some 300 people and operated 40 to 60 aircraft.<ref name="ethz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bout's network allegedly delivered surface-to-air missiles to Kenya to be used to attack an Israeli airliner during takeoff in 2002.<ref>Moi Son's Link to Arms Dealer in UN Ban Template:Webarchive. Africa News. 23 November 2004.</ref>

Bout was reportedly seen meeting with Hezbollah officials in Lebanon during the run-up to the 2006 Lebanon War, while some sources claim he was actually in Russia when the meeting took place.<ref name=de3/>

Records found in Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence headquarters in Tripoli, shortly after the overthrow of the Gaddafi government in 2011, indicated that in late September 2003, British intelligence officials told then-Libyan intelligence chief Musa Kusa that Bout had a "considerable commercial presence in Libya" and aimed to expand his interests there.<ref name="Libya">"Khadafy records tie Russian arms dealer to Libya, U.S. experts hunt for anti-aircraft missiles" Template:Webarchive Associated Press, 5 November 2011.</ref>

In 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. government and its contractors paid Bout-controlled firms roughly $60 million to fly supplies into Iraq in support of American forces, describing Bout as a "linchpin" for American supply lines in Iraq.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

InvestigationEdit

Bout's strategy of constantly moving locations, owning numerous companies, and frequently re-registering aircraft made it hard for authorities to make a case against him. He has never been charged for the alleged African arms deals to which he owes his notoriety.<ref name="Economist"/><ref name="UNcopy"/><ref name="BBC 4">Arms suspect faces charges in US Template:Webarchive BBC, Friday, 7 March 2008, 13:36 GMT</ref> During Bout's reported operations, he is believed to have lived in various countries, including Belgium, Lebanon, Rwanda, Russia, South Africa, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.<ref name="ethz"/><ref name="russian add1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=de3>Trapping the Lord of War, The Rise and Fall of Viktor Bout Template:Webarchive Part 4: Hired to Supply U.S. Forces in Iraq. spiegel.de, 6 October 2010</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=mensjournal>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2000, Bout was charged in the Central African Republic with forging documents and was convicted in absentia, but the charges were later dropped.<ref name="christsci">"Who is Victor Bout?" Template:Webarchive Global News Blog (The Christian Science Monitor) by Elizabeth Ryan, 22 October 2009</ref>

Belgian authorities requested that Interpol issue a notice for Bout on charges of money laundering. In 2002 an Interpol red notice on Bout was issued.<ref name="Mother">"Meet Viktor Bout, the Real-Life 'Lord of War'" Template:Webarchive Mother Jones, 13 September 2007</ref> Bout's website states that because he failed to appear in court a Belgian warrant (not the Interpol notice) for his arrest was issued but later cancelled.<ref name="Bout FAQ"/> The site has a document in Dutch to support the claim that the Belgian case against him was dismissed due to his lack of a fixed residence, and because the case could not be prosecuted in a timely fashion.<ref name="Dutch doc">A Legal Document in Dutch Template:Webarchive Victor Bout's Personal Website</ref>

Bout's U.S. assets were among those frozen in July 2004 under Executive Order 13348, which describes him as a "businessman, dealer and transporter of weapons and minerals" and cites his close association with Charles Taylor.<ref name="Bush Order">United States Executive Order 13348 Template:Webarchive Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Importation of Certain Goods from Liberia, 27 July 2004</ref>

US sting operation, arrest, and extraditionEdit

File:Viktor Bout Extradited To The United States.jpg
Bout in DEA custody (16 November 2010)

At the beginning of 2008, a US DEA paid informer, claiming to represent the Colombian rebel group FARC, supposedly independently of the CIA, negotiated with Bout for the supply of 100 9K38 Igla surface-to-air missiles and armour-piercing rocket launchers to be parachuted in by Bout to agreed landing spots in Colombia. The imposters invited Bout to Thailand to meet their leader.<ref name="Observer">"Revealed: trap that lured the merchant of death" Template:Webarchive The Observer, Sunday, 9 March 2008</ref><ref name="Economist"/>Template:Efn He was charged with terrorism offences that included conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile, conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation, conspiracy to kill US nationals, and conspiracy to kill United States officers or employees. The US military was attacking the Colombian rebel group as part of Plan Colombia. None of the alleged crimes were committed in the US.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 6 March 2008, Bout was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, by the Royal Thai Police based on an Interpol red notice requested by the United States based on conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.<ref name="Interpol1">INTERPOL praises international co-operation behind arrest of suspected international arms dealer by Thai Police, Media release, INTERPOL, 7 March 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2015</ref> After months of delay, the Criminal Court in Bangkok began an extradition hearing for Bout on 22 September 2008.<ref name="BBC 3">"Russian 'arms dealer' trial opens" Template:Webarchive, BBC, Monday, 22 September 2008</ref> In February 2009, members of the United States Congress signed a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing their wish that the Bout extradition "remain a top priority".<ref name="Letter to Clinton">A letter to Secretary of State Mrs. Clinton regarding Bout extradition Template:Webarchive. PDF, Victor Bout's personal website</ref>

On 11 August 2009, the Bangkok Criminal Court ruled in his favor, denying the United States' request for extradition and citing the political, not criminal, nature of the case.<ref name=denial>Template:Cite news</ref> The United States appealed that ruling. On 20 August 2010, a higher court in Thailand ruled that Bout could be extradited to the United States.<ref name="'Merchant of Death' to be Extradited">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 16 November 2010, Bout was extradited from Thailand to the United States amid protests by the Russian government, who deemed it illegal.<ref name="Mydans">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Clear left

Russian protestsEdit

Russia called the Thai court decision in 2010 politically motivated.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>"Russia condemns Thai decision on Bout's extradition". CNN-IBN.in.com (20 August 2010).</ref> Russia's Foreign Ministry tried to prevent Bout being extradited to the U.S.<ref name=de/> Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that Bout was innocent.<ref name=de/>

On 18 November 2010, shortly after Bout's extradition to the United States, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's aide Sergei Prikhodko said that Russia had "nothing to hide" in Bout's criminal case stating, "it is in our interest that the investigation ... be brought to completion, and [Bout] should answer all the questions the American justice system has."<ref name="ReutPrikh">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NEWSruPrikh">Template:Cite news</ref>

On 18 January 2013, Russian government officials announced that "judges, investigators, justice ministry officials and special services agents who were involved in Russian citizens Viktor Bout's and Konstantin Yaroshenko's legal prosecution and sentencing to long terms of imprisonment" would be added to a list of U.S. officials who will be denied Russian entry visas in response to the U.S. Magnitsky Act, under which certain Russian officials are ineligible to enter the U.S.<ref name="Gitmo">Template:Cite news</ref>

It is thought that Bout was of help to Russia's intelligence agencies,<ref name="extradition">"Appeal Court verdict on the extradition of Bout" Template:Webarchive. The Nation, 1 September 2010.</ref> and he is alleged to have connections to ranking Russian officials, including former deputy prime minister Igor Sechin.<ref name="NWSech">Template:Cite news</ref> The language institute Bout attended has been linked to the GRU. Bout allegedly served alongside the GRU-affiliated Sechin in Mozambique in the 1980s, although both men deny this allegation.<ref name="ethz"/><ref name=de/><ref name=merchant-death-book>Template:Cite book 308 pages</ref><ref name=mensjournal/><ref name=forbes>Template:Cite news</ref> According to a 2002 United Nations report, Bout's father-in-law Zuiguin "at one point held a high position in the KGB, perhaps even as high as a deputy chairman".<ref name="ethz"/>

U.S. prosecution and convictionEdit

Template:Quote box The day after his Bangkok arrest, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Bout with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization,<ref name="DOJ">"International Arms Dealer Charged in U.S. with Conspiracy to Provide Surface-to-Air Missiles and other Weapons to a Foreign Terrorist Organization" Template:Webarchive. United States Department of Justice.</ref> conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to kill American officers or employees, and conspiring to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile.<ref name="BBC 3"/> Additional charges against him were filed in February 2010.<ref name=news>"US files new charges against arms dealer Viktor Bout" Template:Webarchive. CNN, 17 February 2010.</ref> These included illegal purchase of aircraft, wire fraud, and money laundering.<ref name=lead1>"U.S. Announces New Indictment Against International Arms Dealer Viktor Bout and American Co-Conspirator for Money Laundering, Wire Fraud, and Conspiracy" Template:Webarchive. PDF, U.S. Indictment released 17 February 2010.</ref>

Bout was convicted by a jury at a federal court in Manhattan on 2 November 2011.<ref name="AP-11-2-2011">Template:Cite news</ref> On 5 April 2012, Bout was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the minimum sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group.<ref name=aljazeera_sentencing/><ref>"Russian Arms Trafficker Viktor Bout Gets 25 Years in US Prison" . Voice of America, 5 April 2012.</ref> US District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the minimum sentence was appropriate because "there was no evidence that Bout would have committed the crimes for which he was convicted had it not been for the sting operation".<ref name=aljazeera_sentencing/>

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement denouncing Bout's sentence as "a political order".<ref name=aljazeera_sentencing/> During the trial, Bout's lawyers implied that he was a political prisoner.<ref name=aljazeera_sentencing>Template:Cite news</ref> Bout's wife Alla said shortly afterwards that the judge conducted the trial in a proper way.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bout claimed that if the same standards were applied to everyone, all American gun shop owners "who are sending arms and ending up killing Americans" would be in prison.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In June 2013, a co-conspirator of Bout's, U.S-Syrian citizen Richard Ammar Chichakli, was extradited to New York on charges that he conspired to buy aircraft in violation of economic sanctions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In September 2013, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld Bout's conviction, after rejecting his contention that he had been the victim of a vindictive prosecution and that there was no legitimate law enforcement reason to prosecute him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2014, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's law firm represented Bout, seeking a new trial to overturn his conviction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, Bout had been scheduled for release in August 2029.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

It was revealed in June 2024 that Bout's legal fees had been paid by Pravfond, a Kremlin linked fund.<ref name="ar0624">Template:Cite news</ref>

Prisoner exchangeEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In June 2020, a Reuters article highlighted that following the charging of U.S. Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan, Moscow was exploring the possibility of a prisoner swap exchanging Whelan for Bout and a pilot named Konstantin Yaroshenko.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Yaroshenko was released in exchange for U.S. Marine Corps veteran Trevor Reed in April 2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In May 2022, a Forbes article claimed the Biden administration had offered Bout in exchange for the release of Women's National Basketball Association player Brittney Griner. Griner had been detained by customs officers in Sheremetyevo International Airport for being in possession of drugs illegal in Russia, for which she faced 5–10 years in prison.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2022, the proposal got further support from President Joe Biden.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 27 July, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States had made a "substantial offer" to Russia to release Griner and Paul Whelan, another American who had been convicted of spy activities in Russia, but declined to say what the United States was offering.<ref name="Light"/> On the same day, CNN reported that the U.S. had offered to exchange Bout for both Griner and Whelan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bout was released back to Russia on 8 December 2022. Once confirmation came on that the prisoner exchange excluded Whelan, CNN interviewed him. Whelan expressed his frustration that more has not been done to secure his release in the exclusive CNN interview.

Whelan continued and said he was happy that Griner was released, but told CNN, "I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four year anniversary of my arrest is coming up." Biden said, "While we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul's release, we have not given up; we will not give up."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Whelan would later be released as a part of a 26-person prisoner exchange on August 1, 2024.

After returning to RussiaEdit

On 9 December 2022, Bout gave an interview to Maria Butina for RT, where he stated that he did not think he was important for Russian politics.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 10 December, Bout supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said that he would volunteer if given the opportunity and skills.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 12 December 2022, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) leader Leonid Slutsky announced that Bout had joined the LDPR.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 2 July 2023, Bout was nominated to run for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ulyanovsk Oblast as a member of the LDPR,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which he ended up winning.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 6 October 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bout had returned to dealing arms and was in discussions with Houthi militants regarding the sale of small arms for the Houthis' attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

Since 1992, he has been married to Alla Vladimirovna Bout (née Protasova; born in 1970 in Leningrad). Alla is an artist, designer, fashion designer, was the owner of clothing stores in the UAE, Germany, South Africa and Russia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Viktor Bout met his future wife in the late 1980s in Mozambique, where he worked as a translator from Portuguese in the Soviet military mission. This was Alla's second marriage. His daughter was born in 1994 in the UAE.

Viktor Bout is a vegetarian.<ref name="Бинецкий-2">Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He claims that he is not a follower of any religion, but considers Leo Tolstoy and Ivan Ilyin to be his spiritual leaders and "shares the views" of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Zarathustra and Krishna.<ref name="ria130212">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bout speaks Portuguese, Farsi, Zulu, and Xhosa.<ref name="Vesti-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In popular cultureEdit

Cinema

In 2005, Viktor Bout became the prototype for the main character of the American film Lord of War, portrayed by Nicolas Cage.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

According to Bout’s wife, Viktor also served as the prototype for the coordinator and sponsor of the escape of Russian pilots — so-called "merchants of death" (illegal arms suppliers) — from Taliban captivity in the film Kandahar.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A documentary about Bout, The Notorious Mr. Bout, from Market Road Films and directed by Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin, received its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Literature

In 2007, Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah published a book about Bout titled Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bout also served as the prototype for the arms dealer and supplier Andrey Shut in the novel Equator by Andrey Tsaplienko.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2010, French writer Gérard de Villiers wrote the novel The Bangkok Trap, in which Viktor Bout was the inspiration for the main character.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the same year, Russian poet Yunna Morits published poems dedicated to Viktor Bout.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2021, journalist Alexander Gasyuk published the book Viktor Bout: The True Story of the "Merchant of Death".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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BibliographyEdit

  • Estulin, Daniel, Shadow Masters, Oregon: Trine Day, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9799886-1-5. (The author spent six months attending court hearings and interviewing Bout in prison.)

External linksEdit

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