Viktor Bout Photo:Pavel Bednyakov/RIA Novosti
Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death”, has once again found himself at the centre of an international scandal after his release in 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange with American basketball player Brittney Griner. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, Booth is trying to re-establish his connections in the global arms trade, this time by arranging arms supplies for the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
According to sources, in August, Houthi representatives arrived in Moscow to negotiate the purchase of $10 million worth of automatic weapons, where they met a familiar face – Bout himself. However, Booth’s lawyer in the United States, Steve Zissou, refused to comment on the meeting with the rebels, as did Houthi representatives.
Upon his return to Russia, the 57-year-old Booth joined the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), but his public activities have been limited since then.
Bout, previously considered one of the world’s most wanted arms dealers, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 on charges related to illegal arms sales. In 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the United States for contributing to armed conflicts in various regions of the world. His life even became the basis for the film The Gun Baron, starring Nicolas Cage.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the transfer of weapons to the Houthis has not yet taken place, and so far it has been less serious weapons than missiles that could threaten US military operations in the region.
