UK convicts two men of attempted illegal arms trafficking to South Sudan

Sat 2026-06-13

LONDON – Two men have been convicted in the United Kingdom for attempting to broker the illegal supply of thousands of weapons, including assault rifles, combat helicopters, tanks, and missile systems, to conflict-affected countries, including South Sudan, British prosecutors announced on Thursday.

Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, 68-year-old David Greenhalgh and 48-year-old Christos Farmakis were found guilty on multiple counts of illegal arms trafficking under the UK’s Export Control Order 2008.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the pair operated a secretive international arms brokering network between July 2009 and December 2016, attempting to arrange the supply of military equipment from former Soviet and Eastern European states to embargoed destinations, including South Sudan, Sudan, Libya, Iraq, and Iran.

Greenhalgh was convicted of ten counts of being knowingly involved in activities intended to facilitate the unlicensed supply of controlled military goods to embargoed countries. Farmakis, a Greek national who was tried in absentia, was convicted of nine similar offences.

The prosecution said the men sought to broker deals involving surface-to-air missile systems, Mi-24 combat helicopter gunships, battle tanks, anti-tank missile launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, fighter jets, and tens of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles accompanied by millions of rounds of ammunition.

In a statement obtained by , Anja Hohmeyer, a specialist prosecutor with the CPS’s Serious Economic Organised Crime International Directorate, said the defendants attempted to exploit armed conflicts for financial gain.

“Greenhalgh and Farmakis treated the international arms trade as their personal business opportunity – systematically sourcing weapons from former Soviet states and attempting to channel them into some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones, including Libya and South Sudan,” Hohmeyer said.

“They knew exactly what they were doing. Their own emails showed them discussing how to evade UK licensing controls, falsify end-user certificates and disguise the true nature of their deals.”

Investigators uncovered extensive correspondence in which the defendants allegedly discussed forging end-user certificates, falsifying shipping documents, and routing weapons through third countries to conceal their final destinations.

One email cited during the trial involved a proposed deal to supply 100,000 AK-47 rifles to South Sudan.

In the correspondence, Greenhalgh reportedly noted that “Iraq/Syria is hoovering up every piece of small arms in market” and warned a contact that “Europe WILL NOT accept your paperwork. You will need support from other Brothers.”

Farmakis was also found to have acknowledged the illegality of such transactions. In one email recovered by investigators, he wrote: “Any activity without an EUC is illegal and subject to criminal investigations,” referring to end-user certificates required for arms transfers.

The CPS said Greenhalgh owned and controlled the Airservices group of companies, which operated across several jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, Greece, Macedonia, Hong Kong, and South Sudan. Prosecutors argued that he used overseas companies to conduct what he described in correspondence as “sensitive projects” in an effort to avoid British oversight.

Farmakis, meanwhile, worked as a London-based business adviser while also operating a Cyprus-registered company known as Black Betty Consulting, which prosecutors said was used to negotiate arms deals.

The case was investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), whose Fraud Investigation Service worked alongside other government agencies to examine the alleged trafficking network.

Edwige Hill, Deputy Director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said the convictions demonstrated Britain’s commitment to enforcing international arms controls.

“Greenhalgh and Farmakis showed a blatant disregard for international sanctions, seeking to profit from the illegal supply of weapons,” Hill said.

“These convictions are a clear warning to others that you will face justice for breaching the UK’s strict controls and brokering illegal supplies to sanctioned and embargoed destinations.”

The Export Control Joint Unit, which oversees Britain’s arms export licensing system, confirmed that neither defendant nor any of Greenhalgh’s Airservices companies had ever applied for licences relating to the transactions examined during the trial.

Both men are scheduled to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 22 July 2026.

The convictions come amid continued international scrutiny of illicit arms flows into conflict-affected regions, including South Sudan, where efforts to implement peace and security reforms remain ongoing.

sudanspost.com