US Files New Charges Against Russian Arms Baron Victor Bout

[george]

US files new charges against Russian arms baron

NEW YORK (AFP): -- US prosecutors on Wednesday announced money laundering and fraud charges against Russia's Viktor Bout, the so-called "Merchant of Death," in addition to existing weapons dealing charges.

The new charges targeted Bout and alleged co-conspirator Richard Ammar Chichakli over their alleged attempts to buy two aircraft from US-based companies in violation of economic sanctions.

Bout and Chichakli were indicted "with money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and six separate counts of wire fraud, in connection with these financial transactions," the US Attorney's office in New York said.

Bout is already charged with arms trafficking to Colombia's Marxist FARC guerrilla group, which Washington has designated as a terrorist force.

A former Soviet officer alleged to have become one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, Bout was arrested in Thailand in March 2008 and has been held since without bail. However, Thai authorities have so far resisted high-level US pressure for his extradition.

"The United States has apprised Thai authorities of the new charges against Bout unsealed today and will continue to work closely with them on this matter. The United States is also coordinating with Interpol to locate and arrest Chichakli," the statement said.

"Bout, an international weapons trafficker since the 1990s, has carried out a massive weapons-trafficking business by assembling a fleet of cargo airplanes capable of transporting weapons and military equipment to various parts of the world, including Africa, South America, and the Middle East," the prosecutor's office said.

"The arms that Bout has sold or brokered have fueled conflicts and supported regimes in Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Sudan."

Chichakli is a US citizen and has assisted in Bout's financial management of his network of aircraft companies since at least the mid-1990s, the prosecutor's office alleged.

The burly, polyglot Bout was arrested in 2008 at a five-star hotel in Bangkok where he was allegedly arranging to sell surface-to-air missiles to US agents posing as Colombian guerrillas.

A Bangkok court ruled that it did not have the authority to extradite Bout because the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia was not listed as a terrorist group in Thailand -- a decision praised by Moscow.

The nickname "Merchant of Death" was coined by a former British foreign office minister and also used for a 2007 book on Bout's alleged activities.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-02-18

Published with written approval from AFP.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Briggsy]

Manna for heaven for the Thais here. No need to make a decision that would upset a sponsor - something no Thai likes doing under any circumstances - and a good excuse to spin it out for another 3 years.

Bad news for Viktor Bout though who seems set to be serving a life sentence by default.

[givenall]

US Government is the biggest arm dealer in the war and number one Merchant of Death. They just don’t want any competition

[mark45y]

The "merchant of death" was Basil Zaharoff he died in 1936. Some say he started WWI to sell arms. He married María del Pilar Antonia Angela Patrocinio Simona de Muguiro y Beruete when he was 75.

Edited February 18, 2010 by mark45y

[george]

MERCHANT OF DEATH

US steps up efforts to extradite Viktor Bout

The US has indicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout on a series of new charges, including illegally purchasing US cargo planes to ferry weapons to warring parties and regimes in Africa and the Middle East.

The new indictment, announced in New York and Washington Wednesday, comes as the United States steps up efforts to extradite Bout to New York from Thailand, where he has been arrested and jailed since 2008.

The indictment charges Bout, a Russian native, and his alleged American co-conspirator, Richard Chichakli, with the illegal purchase of a Boeing 727 and a Boeing 737 and with money laundering and wire fraud. Chichakli remains at large, authorities said.

The US Justice Department said Bout has been an international weapons trafficker since the 1990s. He allegedly carried out a massive weapons trafficking business by assembling a fleet of cargo planes to transport weapons to parts of Africa, the Middle East and South America.

"The arms that Bout has sold or brokered have fueled conflicts and supported regimes in Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan," the Justice Department said.

Bout "allegedly made a career of arming bloody conflicts and supporting rogue regimes across multiple continents, even using the US banking system to secretly finance a private fleet of aircraft," said US Attorney Preet Bharara.

Thai courts to date have balked at extraditing Bout to the United States on the basis of the original charges.

"The United States has apprised Thai authorities of the new charges against Bout ... and will continue to work closely with them on this matter," the Justice Department statement said. "The United States is also coordinating with Interpol to locate and arrest Chichakli."

-- The Nation 2010-02-18

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[H2oDunc]

Maybe they don't like the competition ? I had to laugh when they gave Obama the Nobel peace prize. The guy is killing more people than ever and they give him a prize for peace CRAZY!!!!!

Also why is it that countries that already have thousands of nuclear weapons call them nuclear deterrents yet anybody else wants them and they are suddenly weapons of mass destruction ?

[Jimi007]

Maybe they don't like the competition ? I had to laugh when they gave Obama the Nobel peace prize. The guy is killing more people than ever and they give him a prize for peace CRAZY!!!!!

Also why is it that countries that already have thousands of nuclear weapons call them nuclear deterrents yet anybody else wants them and they are suddenly weapons of mass destruction ?

I guess you're all for Iran having nukes?

[webfact]

UPDATE

Thailand says 'Merchant of Death' faces new extradition case

BANGKOK: -- (AFP) - Thailand said Thursday that Russian alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout could face new extradition proceedings after US prosecutors filed fresh charges against the so-called "Merchant of Death".

Money laundering and fraud charges were announced in New York on Wednesday against Bout, apparently amid fears that he could soon be released by a court in Thailand almost two years after his March 2008 arrest.

He was seized in Bangkok while allegedly agreeing to supply missiles to Colombian rebels, but judges said last August that they could not extradite him because the Thai government had not listed the group as terrorist.

The government has challenged that ruling, with a decision expected soon, but the attorney general's office said Thursday that the new cases had now changed the situation.

"The US has informed the court that new charges would be filed against Bout," Sirisak Tiyapan, head of international affairs at Thailand's attorney general's office, told AFP.

"If the formal charges are filed it would be treated as a different case, so he could be rearrested if the appeals court upholds the earlier verdict in his ongoing case," he said.

The new charges target Bout and alleged co-conspirator Richard Ammar Chichakli over their alleged attempts to buy two aircraft from US-based companies in violation of economic sanctions.

But Bout's lawyer, Lak Nitiwatvichan, said the latest fraud charges would not affect the current case concerning the missiles and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

"This has nothing to do with the current case," Lak said. "The US has tried every possible way to get Bout extradited."

Bout, a former Soviet Air Force officer, is accused of peddling weapons to some of the world's most violent warmongers, including Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and Afghanistan's Taliban.

His notoriety inspired the Hollywood film "Lord of War" starring Nicolas Cage.

The nickname "Merchant of Death" was coined by a former British foreign office minister and also used for a 2007 book on Bout's alleged activities.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-02-18

Published with written approval from AFP.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[BlackJack]

US Government is the biggest arm dealer in the war and number one Merchant of Death. They just don’t want any competition

you are 100% right

Iraq has now charged them in the International Courts with dropping depleted Uranium on their country.

US dropped WMD on Vietnam also

US sold weapons to IRAQ so Saddam could fight IRAN

US sells to Israel to fight Hamas

US sells to Afghanistan when they were fighting the Russians

it goes on and on

But as they have the big stick whos going to stop them.

The USA is like a spoiled brat that doesnt want to share its cake

If Victor was an official for China, Nth Korea or Russia then it would be OK - he would be left to his market share!

[webfact]

UPDATE

US files new charges against 'Merchant of Death'

by Anusak Konglang

BANGKOK: -- (AFP) - Thailand said Thursday that Russian alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout could face fresh extradition proceedings after US prosecutors filed new charges against the so-called "Merchant of Death".

Money laundering and fraud charges were announced in New York on Wednesday against Bout, apparently amid fears that he could soon be released by a court in Thailand almost two years after his March 2008 arrest.

Bout is accused of peddling weapons to some of the world's most violent warmongers, including Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, and his notoriety inspired the Hollywood film "Lord of War" starring Nicolas Cage.

He was seized in Bangkok while allegedly agreeing to supply missiles to Colombian rebels, but judges said last August that they could not extradite him because the Thai government had not listed the group as a terrorist outfit.

Thailand's government has challenged that ruling, with a decision expected soon, but the country's attorney general's office said Thursday that the new cases had now changed the situation.

"The US has informed the court that new charges would be filed against Bout," Sirisak Tiyapan, head of international affairs at Thailand's attorney general's office, told AFP.

"If the formal charges are filed (to Thailand) it would be treated as a different case, so he could be rearrested if the appeals court upholds the earlier verdict in his ongoing case," he said.

The new charges target Bout and alleged co-conspirator Richard Ammar Chichakli over their alleged attempts to buy two aircraft from US-based companies in violation of economic sanctions.

Bout and Chichakli were indicted "with money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and six separate counts of wire fraud, in connection with these financial transactions", the US Attorney's office in New York said.

Chichakli is a US citizen and has assisted in Bout's financial management of his network of aircraft companies since at least the mid-1990s, the prosecutor's office alleged.

Bout's lawyer in Thailand, Lak Nitiwatvichan, said the latest fraud charges would not affect the current case concerning the missiles and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

"This has nothing to do with the current case," Lak said. "The US has tried every possible way to get Bout extradited."

Bout, a former Soviet Air Force officer, has continually protested his innocence, insisting he was the boss of a legitimate air cargo firm.

He has been held at a maximum-security prison outside Bangkok since his arrest.

Burly and with a signature bushy moustache, he allegedly used eight different aliases and his command of six languages to barter deals for planes and guns across the world.

He was arrested in a sting at a five-star Bangkok hotel after allegedly agreeing to supply surface-to-air missiles to US agents posing as FARC guerrillas.

Bout faces life in prison if sent to the United States and convicted there on the earlier terrorism charges, including conspiracy to kill US officers or employees and conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile.

That US indictment accuses him of using a fleet of cargo planes to transport weapons and military equipment to some of the world's most violent conflicts, in Africa, South America and the Middle East.

The nickname "Merchant of Death" was coined by a former British foreign office minister and also used for a 2007 book on Bout's alleged activities.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-02-18

Published with written approval from AFP.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[gemini81]

US Government is the biggest arm dealer in the war and number one Merchant of Death. They just don't want any competition

you are 100% right

Iraq has now charged them in the International Courts with dropping depleted Uranium on their country.

US dropped WMD on Vietnam also

US sold weapons to IRAQ so Saddam could fight IRAN

US sells to Israel to fight Hamasit goes on and on

But as they have the big stick whos going to stop them.

US sells to Afghanistan when they were fighting the Russians

The USA is like a spoiled brat that doesnt want to share its cake

If Victor was an official for China, Nth Korea or Russia then it would be OK - he would be left to his market share!

so you would rather have all sorts of arms floating around in radical and violent countries, and coming into yours?

[Briggsy]

Can we keep on topic? Probably not.

[moskito]

Maybe they don't like the competition ? I had to laugh when they gave Obama the Nobel peace prize. The guy is killing more people than ever and they give him a prize for peace CRAZY!!!!!

Also why is it that countries that already have thousands of nuclear weapons call them nuclear deterrents yet anybody else wants them and they are suddenly weapons of mass destruction ?

i am sure if the norwegians doesnt gave the Nobel to Obama, the USAmericans are already in Iran

[BlackJack]

US Government is the biggest arm dealer in the war and number one Merchant of Death. They just don't want any competition

you are 100% right

Iraq has now charged them in the International Courts with dropping depleted Uranium on their country.

US dropped WMD on Vietnam also

US sold weapons to IRAQ so Saddam could fight IRAN

US sells to Israel to fight Hamasit goes on and on

But as they have the big stick whos going to stop them.

US sells to Afghanistan when they were fighting the Russians

The USA is like a spoiled brat that doesnt want to share its cake

If Victor was an official for China, Nth Korea or Russia then it would be OK - he would be left to his market share!

so you would rather have all sorts of arms floating around in radical and violent countries, and coming into yours?

u miss the point

[LomSak27]

I had to laugh when they gave Obama the Nobel peace prize. The guy is killing more people than ever and they give him a prize for peace CRAZY!!!!!

That's what happens when Euro's give awards based on the mood they are in that day ... Like Harold Pinters Nobel Prize.

[H2oDunc]

Maybe they don't like the competition ? I had to laugh when they gave Obama the Nobel peace prize. The guy is killing more people than ever and they give him a prize for peace CRAZY!!!!!

Also why is it that countries that already have thousands of nuclear weapons call them nuclear deterrents yet anybody else wants them and they are suddenly weapons of mass destruction ?

I guess you're all for Iran having nukes?

And you are OK with Israel having them then ? America and the rest of world did NOTHING to stop them acquiring them.

I made no mention of Iran or the rights or wrongs of having them I just mentioned that the 1 country that has slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people using them call the a deterrent yet to any body else they are weapons of mass destruction.

" we come in peace ! Shoot to kill " comes to mind

Edited February 25, 2010 by H2oDunc

[LomSak27]

H2oDunc posted

And you are OK with Israel having them then ? America and the rest of world did NOTHING to stop them acquiring them.

I hear you. The USA should have launched simultaneous attacks against Paris, Marseilles and Tel Aviv to stop Israel from acquiring Nukes back in 62 but I reckon it’s some be kind to Euro thing in the USA, they just let it happen. Truth is we should have spanked them both