Bout is well-connected. Ex-KGB, his planes fly anything for anybody anywhere. He is accused of flying Al-Qaida’s heroin to Europe. His planes have also made hundreds of flights over the years Iraq for the US (at $60,000 a flight). When he was going to be arrested once in the gulf states, the US State Dept. intervened to get him off. He used to base his planes in Gambia (ruled by one of the most corrupt dictatorships in Africa).
He has very curious connections, probably with most of the intelligence agencies in the world, and I would be very surprised if strings are not pulled to get him released very quickly.
Bout a millionaire and former KGB major, has based his planes in a number of countries including South Africa, Central African nations, Ostend, Belgium, and Sharjah (where he had a residence) in the UAE, With a fleet of as many as 60 aircraft, he always managed to be one step ahead of the law and Interpol. His preferred dealers were found in Slovakia with its corrupt defense ministry, and Bulgaria, where he was active from 1995-1999.. While he got his start in Angola in 1991, his aircraft would move anything and anybody for anyone. He was involved for years with Al Qaeda (and later with the Taleban), and was claimed to be “in the pocket” of money launderers and diamond traders working for bin Laden. In 1999 the Clinton admin arged Sharjah to shut down Bout’s operation. The UAE claimed it had no evidence of Bout wrongdoing and ignored Washington.
Russia as a state exports anything to anyone, literally.
While they pretend and put on a show as if they are an intermediary with Iran, it’s Russian firms building the reactor and supplying gas centrifuge’s etc. Because they often go through middle men, the state has little transparency, in the West there is little interest, it goes more or less unmentioned what is going on.
North Korea fly’s MIG29Cs, Iran is receiving SA10s and already has the SA15, Syria recently (2005) received the SA18........ Russia is the absolute bottom feeder in the arms industry and as a state. They export arms to Venezuela, which they know are intended to end up elsewhere, they violate UN arms embargoes and sell GPS jammers to Iraq during the 11 years of sanctions, they export missiles to Iran, knowing they will end up in Hezbollah’s hands....... When everyone else turned their back on India and Pakistan after nuclear tests and their show-down years past, with the EU and US cutting them off in arms deals largely, Russia quickly seized the opportunity and rushed in. From Venezuela to North Korea and everything in between (i.e. Libya, Iran, Sudan, etc) Russia can be counted on by the tin pot regime.
In Russia the arms industry is controlled by the state. High tech weaponry even such as a SA18 is a sensitive and controlled item as is a Stinger in the US. These things don’t move in or out of Russia without knowledge and approval.