Eps 5: Biographies of the Top Ten Most Wanted Arm's Dealers in the World
— The List
| Host image: | StyleGAN neural net |
|---|---|
| Content creation: | GPT-3.5, |
Host
Michele Franklin
Podcast Content
-
In 2019, the French billionaire and arms dealer Bernard Cheynel was named one of the top ten most wanted arms dealers in the world by Forbes Magazine. The biography entitled "Marchand d'Armes: The Life of a Billionaire Entrepreneur and Arms Dealer", written by prominent French journalist Jean-Paul Marchetti, was published in 2020. It tells the story of Cheynel's journey from humble beginnings as a horse trainer to becoming one of the biggest arms companies in France. Marcel Dassault, founder of Dassault Aviation, is another key figure in Cheynel’s story as his biggest client and mentor.
His name is Vikor Bout, an international arms dealer who has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for the past two years. He is wanted for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to sell weapons to the Afghanistan government. Bout sold weapons to help them crush the Taliban insurgency. Prior to that he had a stint as a military translator in Angola for the Soviet army and his deal took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. Bout followed this stint with a job as translator in Sharjah and it was here that he developed his international arms empire.
His first major sale was in 1995 when he delivered weapons to Liberia. He then went on to make millions selling arms to the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Vikor Bout has become a sort of modern day James Bond character with his far fetched spy thriller lifestyle. It has been reported that the Russian government wants Viktor Bout back and they are willing to trade prisoners in order to get him back. It has been rumored that this prisoner swap could include a basketball star from the United States penitentiary, who is currently serving time in Illinois' Marion State Prison, for Viktor Bout from Moscow's Lefortovo Prison. The swap would be approved by both Vladimir Putin and Christopher Miller of the United States and would allow Viktor Bout to be released from prison. This possible prisoner swap is something that both countries are discussing but nothing concrete has been decided yet.
Viktor Bout, the world's most notorious arms dealer and one of the most wanted men in the world, was court convicted by a U.S. court in Illinois at the Millennium One trial. He received a 40 year prison sentence for his crimes and is now held in a federal prison as one of the world's most notorious prisoners.
His extradition was the first of its kind, and it brought about a new wave of attention to international arms trading. Viktor Bout is also known as the most prolific arms dealer in history, having sold weaponry to many other arms dealers, governments, and terrorist groups over his career. He personified the illegal arms trade and was described by some as the defining villain in international arms trading. His ties to Russian intelligence agencies were highly scrutinized during his court battles, but his skills for selling weaponry continued even during incarceration. The states' continued interest in Viktor Bout's activities has lasted almost two decades now and he remains one of the most notorious figures in the global arms trade. Many other high-profile figures have followed in his footsteps and have been connected with selling weapons to murderous warlords or terrorist groups.
Charles Taylor, the first Liberian president, was one such character. He was involved in arms dealings with the Milosevic government and sent weapons to Mozambique during their civil war. Bout was another notable arms dealer who was connected to supplying weapons to the uprising Bosnian government forces during the Yugoslav Wars. Eyewitnesses have also reported seeing Bout dealing with Soviet military advisers in Mozambique and other former Portuguese colonies. In addition, he is alleged to have been involved in supplying weapons for use by various rebel groups during Yugoslavia's civil war.
Bout delivered weapons to the Jonas Savimbi forces in Angola, the Angolan government, and Zaire. He also provided weapons to Savimbi's faction in exchange for diamonds. Witney Schneidman, a former U.S. ambassador to Togo, described Bout as an autodidact with brash confidence and a talent for flying arms. It is alleged that Bout supplied weapons to various African governments whose governments were at odds with the West at the same time.
He has been accused of supplying weapons to the Taliban rebels in Afghanistan. One of the most notorious arms dealers in the world is Bulgarian arms dealer Peter Mirchev, who has earned himself the nickname ‘Bout’ due to his alleged association with a certain Bout-style hustle guns. He is a small man with boxy cheeks and illiteracy, yet he has become one of the most powerful figures in the international arms trade.
The top ten most wanted arms dealers in the world are registered bouts planes, described bout owned planes, and used their planes to sell Liberia aircraft registry. They set up aviation companies bout to carry not just guns but also legal cargo, arms and ammunition. An intelligence agency described bout as a “business associate” with holding companies and transporters associated with the Central Intelligence Agency. The same intelligence agency reported that these men were heavily involved in the illegal arms trade and had links to high-ranking government officials in some countries.
Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, was said to have employed bouts aircraft to transport weapons to Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . Imad Kebir, a suspected arms dealer, is believed to have sold arms to Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency predicted an acquittal for Kebir on charges related to selling weapons and drugs. American forces recently arrested him in Colombia for helping the FARC. Other names on the list include individuals who are believed to be helping the United States Drug Enforcement Agency in its fight against drug trafficking and terrorism.