Sarkis Soghanalian

Sarkis Soghanalian
Born
Սարգիս Սողանալեան

(1929-02-06)February 6, 1929
İskenderun, Sanjak of Alexandretta
DiedOctober 5, 2011(2011-10-05) (aged 82)
Hialeah, Florida, U.S.
Known forConvictions for traffic arms, conspiracy of shipping unauthorized weapons

Sarkis Garabet Soghanalian (Armenian: Սարգիս Սողանալեան; February 6, 1929 – October 5, 2011), nicknamed the Merchant of Death, was a Syrian-Lebanese-Armenian[1][2] international private arms dealer who gained fame for being the "Cold War's largest arms merchant"[3] and the lead seller of firearms and weaponry to the former government of Iraq under Saddam Hussein during the 1980s.[4]

Soghanalian was contracted by the Central Intelligence Agency to sell arms to help Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War.[5] With the encouragement of the Reagan Administration and the backing of American intelligence agencies, he oversaw the transaction of several significant arms deals. Aside from Iraq, he also sold weapons to groups in Mauritania, Lebanon, and Latin America.[3]

On the eve of the Persian Gulf War, Soghanalian spoke publicly about his activities during the Iran-Iraq War. This led to a federal indictment by the Justice Department. He was found guilty and sentenced to jail.[6] He was given an early release when he helped the Clinton administration to attempt break up of a counterfeiting ring in Lebanon. In 2001 he was arrested once more by the US government on bank fraud charges, but was released a year later after revelations of further weapons transactions deals between the CIA and Peru.[6]

  1. ^ Shane, Scott (6 October 2011). "Sarkis G. Soghanalian, an Arms Dealer Who Aided U.S. Intelligence, Dies at 82". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Relations, United States Congress Senate Committee on Foreign (1993). The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-16-040181-7.
  3. ^ a b "Sarkis Soghanalian: The Cold War's Largest Arms Merchant." Frontline/World (produced in March 2001). Retrieved April 10, 2007
  4. ^ Silverstein, Ken and Daniel Burton-Rose. Private Warriors. New York: Verso, 2000, pp. 60-61. ISBN 1-85984-325-5.
  5. ^ Kahaner, Larry. AK-47: The Weapon that Changed the Face of War. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2007, p. 125. ISBN 0-471-72641-9.
  6. ^ a b Interview with Sarkis Soghanalian in 2003. Interview with Sarkis Soghanalian. Public Education Center. Retrieved April 10, 2007