In return for US basketball player Brittney Griner, a Russian arms dealer named Viktor Bout was released from prison on December 8, 2022. Russian arms trader Viktor Anatolyevich Bout is also known as Viktor Bout.
He is also an entrepreneur and a former translator for the Soviet Union who used his companies to smuggle weapons. Viktor gained notoriety as the most infamous arms dealer in the world for nearly two decades by supplying weapons to despotic governments, insurgent armies, and brutal tyrants in Africa, Asia, and South America. His notoriety was so great that it served as the basis for the Nicolas Cage–starrer Lord of War. Prior to his release, Bout was detained at the Marion United States Penitentiary.
What Did Viktor Bout Do to Deserve Arrest and Charge?
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The Royal Thai Police seized Viktor Bout, a.k.a. “the merchant of death,” in Thailand on March 6, 2008, on grounds of terrorism. Under Thailand’s Extradition Act, the US Ambassador to Thailand, Eric G. John, requested the extradition of the weapons dealer. The Thai High Court ordered his surrender in August 2010.
Viktor Bout was charged with attempting to sell weapons to a DEA agent posing as a FARC soldier so that they could be used against American forces stationed in Colombia. However, he denied the charges and stated that he anticipated being let go.
He was given a 25-year jail sentence in 2012 by a U.S. court for several offenses connected to his prior history of dealing in firearms. His own country has consistently maintained his innocence and worked to win his release because it is clear that his case is unfair.
Viktor Bout: Who Is He?
On January 13, 1967, Viktor Bout was born in Dushanbe, Soviet Tajikistan. He is a multilingual person. He has two kids of his own as well. Viktor Bout’s alleged wife is Alla Bout. The couple gave birth to Elizaveta Viktorovna Bout, their lone child. The Military Institute of Foreign Languages awarded him a certificate.
The weapons dealer also served in Angola as a translator for the Soviet Armed Forces, earning to the rank of lieutenant. Viktor’s business eventually shifted its focus to Angola. In the years following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989–1991 is when Bout achieved his greatest success. He started a number of fratricide civil conflicts in Asia, Africa, and other places at the time using a surprisingly large amount of abandoned Soviet-era weapons.
The merchant of death purchased a squadron of roughly 60 outdated Soviet military aircraft in the United Arab Emirates. He expanded his business overseas as the vast air fleet of the Soviet Union began to disintegrate. “Merchant of Death: Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible” is a biography written by Viktor Bout in 2007.
Viktor Bout and Brittney Griner Trade Prison Terms
As was previously mentioned, Brittney Griner the athlete was exchanged for the Russian arms dealer. The Russian national spent 14 years behind bars. In February 2022, basketball player Griner was stopped at a Moscow airport for having hashish oil. Brittney Griner was released as part of what US President Joe Biden reportedly stated was a bargain for Viktor Bout, according to Reuters. Griner was safe and on her way home, the American president tweeted. It appears that Viktor has also gone back to his own country.
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