Two men convicted in UK of trying to send weapons to conflict zones

Two men have been found guilty in a UK court of running an arms brokering operation that tried to send weapons – including fighter jets and surface-to-air missile systems – to conflict zones.

David Greenhalgh, 68, and Christos Farmakis, 48, were convicted of brokering the supply of weapons from Eastern European countries to destinations including Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Iraq and Iran.

Both men were found guilty of eight counts of illegal arms trafficking at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.

Greenhalgh, who is British, was convicted of two additional similar offences, while Farmakis – a Greek national who was tried in his absence – was found guilty of one more.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), London-based business advisor Farmakis carried out negotiations through a Cyprus-registered company called Black Betty Consulting.

Greenhalgh, from Croydon, was the owner and controlling director of the 'Airservices' group of companies that operated internationally, including in the UK, Greece, Macedonia, Hong Kong and South Sudan. He used this overseas network to try to hide his deals from UK authorities, CPS said.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said although the deals were done beyond UK jurisdiction, Greenhalgh as a UK national was still "subject to UK trade controls wherever in the world he did business".

Between July 2009 and December 2016, the pair attempted to broker the supply of weapons to countries that were subject to UK arms embargos at the time.

According to HMRC, the buyers from the intended destinations were "desperate for equipment" and were "willing to pay vastly inflated prices".

Some of the deals ran into the tens of millions of dollars, HMRC said.

Greenhalgh and Farmakis sourced supplies from countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia and the Czech Republic.

Some of these weapons included surface-to-air missile systems capable of bringing down aircraft, combat helicopter gunships, battle tanks, anti-tank missile launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, and fighter jets.

According to emails, Greenhalgh wrote about a proposed deal to supply 100,000 AK-47 rifles to South Sudan, noting that "Iraq/Syria is hoovering up every piece of small arms in market" and warning a contact that "Europe WILL NOT accept your paperwork. You will need support from other Brothers."

Both men discussed in emails forging documents and routing deliveries through third countries to hide the ultimate destinations of the weapons.

Edwige Hill, Deputy Director in HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service, said the two men "showed a blatant disregard for international sanctions, seeking to profit from the illegal supply of weapons".

The convictions were "a clear warning" to others trying to send supplies to sanctioned or embargoed destinations, Hill added.

Anja Hohmeyer, Specialist Prosecutor from the CPS, said the agency "will not hesitate to prosecute those who seek to profit from conflict".

Greenhalgh and Farmakis will be sentenced on 22 July.