TWO MEN CONVICTED OF ILLEGAL ARMS BROKERING TO CONFLICT ZONES

Southwark Crown Court found David Greenhalgh and Christos Farmakis guilty of running an illegal arms brokering operation that attempted to supply weapons to conflict zones. Both men were convicted of eight counts of illegal arms trafficking. Greenhalgh, a British national from Croydon, was convicted of two additional similar offences. Farmakis, a Greek national, was found guilty of one further count and was tried in his absence.

The pair attempted to broker weapons to Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Iraq and Iran between July 2009 and December 2016, all of which were subject to UK arms embargoes at the time. Greenhalgh owned and controlled the Airservices group of companies, which operated across the UK, Greece, Macedonia, Hong Kong and South Sudan, and used this international network to conceal deals from UK authorities. Farmakis conducted negotiations through a Cyprus-registered firm called Black Betty Consulting, operating as a London-based business adviser. The weapons involved included surface-to-air missile systems, combat helicopter gunships, battle tanks, anti-tank missile launchers, rocket-propelled grenades and fighter jets, with some deals running into tens of millions of dollars. Supplies were sourced from Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia and the Czech Republic.

HM Revenue and Customs stated that Greenhalgh remained subject to UK trade controls regardless of where in the world he conducted business. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that Farmakis carried out arms negotiations through the Cyprus-registered company. Emails presented in the case showed Greenhalgh discussing a proposed deal to supply 100,000 AK-47 rifles to South Sudan. HMRC noted that buyers in the intended destinations were willing to pay vastly inflated prices for the equipment.