Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer, was released on December 8, 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange for Brittney Griner, an American basketball star. Viktor Anatolyevich Bout, often known as Viktor Bout, is a Russian arms dealer. He is also an entrepreneur and former Soviet military translator who smuggled weapons through his companies. Over nearly two decades, Viktor rose to prominence as the world’s most notorious arms broker, selling arms to rogue states, rebel armies and brutal dictators in Africa, Asia and South America. His fame was such that it inspired a Hollywood film, Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage. Bout was incarcerated at the Marion U.S. Penitentiary prior to his release.
Arrest and accusation of Viktor Bout: What did he do?
On March 6, 2008, the Royal Thai Police detained Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death”, in Thailand on terrorism charges. The US ambassador to Thailand, Eric G. John, sought the arms dealer’s extradition under Thailand’s Extradition Act. In August 2010, the Thai High Court ordered his surrender. Viktor Bout is accused of trying to sell weapons to a DEA agent masquerading as a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for use against US troops in Colombia. However, he denied the allegations and said he expected to be released.
In 2012, a US court sentenced him to 25 years in prison on multiple counts related to his history of firearms trafficking. His case has been seen as a blatant injustice, and his home nation continues to claim his innocence and try to secure his release.
Who is Viktor Bout?
Viktor Bout was born in Dushanbe, in Soviet Tajikistan, on January 13, 1967. He speaks many languages. He is also the father of two children. Alla Bout is allegedly the wife of Viktor Bout. Elizaveta Viktorovna Bout, the couple’s only child, was born. He graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages. Furthermore, the arms dealer worked as a translator in the Soviet armed forces, rising to the rank of lieutenant in Angola.
Viktor’s company eventually focused on Angola. Bout’s main achievement occurred in the days after the fall of the communist bloc in 1989-1991. He used the surprising abundance of abandoned Soviet-era weapons at the time to launch a series of fratricidal civil wars in Asia, Africa and elsewhere. In the United Arab Emirates, the merchant of death has acquired a squadron of about 60 obsolete Soviet military aircraft. As the Soviet Union’s vast air fleet began to crumble, he spread his wares abroad. Viktor Bout wrote a book (biography) entitled “The Merchant of Death: Weapons, Airplanes and the Man Who Makes War Possible” in 2007.
Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout prison swap
As previously reported, the Russian arms dealer was released in exchange for athlete Brittney Griner. The Russian citizen was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Griner, a basketball star, was detained at a Moscow airport in February 2022 for carrying hashish oil. According to Reuters, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Brittney Griner was released as part of what Russia claimed was a deal for Viktor Bout. The President of the United States tweeted that Griner was safe and on his way home. It seems that Viktor has also returned to his nation.
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education