Viktor Bout | |
|---|---|
| Виктор Бут | |
.jpg) Bout in 2022 | |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ulyanovsk Oblast | |
| Assumed office 20 September 2023 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Viktor Anatolyevich Bout 13 January 1967 Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party of Russia[1] (2022–present) |
| Spouse |
Alla Bout (m. 1992) |
| Children | Yelizaveta Bout |
| Occupation | Arms dealer |
| Nickname(s) | Merchant of Death[2] Sanctions Buster Vadim Markovich Aminov[3] Viktor Bulakin[3] Viktor Butt[3] Viktor Budd[3] Boris[3] |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | Repatriated to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange |
| Criminal charge | Conspiring to kill, acquiring and export missiles, providing material to a terrorist organization |
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout[a] (/buːt/; Russian: Ви́ктор Анато́льевич Бут; born 13 January 1967) is a Russian arms dealer and politician. A weapons manufacturer and former Soviet military translator, he used his multiple 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 US sting operation Bout was arrested in 2008 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[4] 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.[5][6][7]
- ^ "Viktor Bout: Russia's released arms dealer joins ultranationalist party". BBC News. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ Light, Felix (1 August 2022). "Who is Viktor Bout, arms dealer linked to swap for Americans held by Moscow?". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "United States of America v. Viktor Bout". 5 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ "What is hashish oil and how did it land Brittney Griner in a Russian jail?". The Independent. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ Hopkins, Valerie (10 September 2023). "Russia's 'Merchant of Death' Is Looking to Forge a New Life in Politics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ "In Russian". Election Committee of Ulyanovsk Region.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Eckel, Mike. "'Merchant Of Death' Viktor Bout Wins Seat In Local Russian Legislature". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
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