Viktor Bout

Victor A. Bout

Victor Bout is a Russian businessman who became one of the world’s famous on the basis of fictitious tales and stories which were generated from one source -- a questionable United Nations contractor named Johan Peleman. All you know about Victor Bout is traceable to Johan Peleman’s report, a report that came in the perfect time and made him an expert, a hero, and a very wealthy man. Read more on Victor Bout official site at http:///www.victorbout.com

Victor Bout is a dynamic, charismatic, spontaneous, well-dressed, well-spoken, and highly energetic person who can easily communicate in several languages including Russian, Portuguese, English, French, Arabic, among several others. He is a born salesman with undying love for aviation and eternal drive to succeed.

Victor was born in the Soviet Union, the city of Dushanbe, in an average home and an average family. His father and mother were both employees in the administrative and accounting fields respectively. Victor went to schools in Dushanbe, the city where his parents were employed, prior to returning to Moscow. There he was drafted to do the mandatory military service as a translator serving in the Soviet Union and abroad, and that was how he got introduced to Africa.

Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union Victor decided to leave the military service and start his own aviation business, the field he was always fascinated by. And with some help from his family and his wife, Victor was able to purchase four Antonov-8 cargo aircraft that became the core and starting point of his fleet and his business.

Venturing into Africa was a matter of necessity rather than choice. Victor who had already invested all he had into the purchase of the AN-8 had no other choice but to operate in Africa, and particularly, Angola which was the first and only country to grant a certificate for civilian operations to the Antonov-8 which was only certified as military freighter until then. Pictured here is one of the AN-8 that started the fleet of Aircess.

The low cost of acquisition of aircraft and the required crew, and the availability of capacity in a highly diverse fleet provided Victor with unparalleled competitive advantage. And until the demise of his operations in Africa there was not any operator capable of competing with Victor Bout. Victor's operation turned the western European competitors to bitter enemies, and that was the major reason behind the unified efforts to drive him out of Africa, and the whole world. The stories of arms trafficking then became a snow ball, a huge matter that had no core; however, it got bigger with every roll, and plenty of rolling was added over more than 10 years.

Two legal issues were ever risen against Viktor Bout, one in Belgium and currently one in the USA. Neither involved arms traffickiking.

The Belgian Case - Closed in 2007

About October 1996 Victor decided to expand his Aircess operation into Europe, and Belgium was the location for the European expansion at the recommendation of the senior Aircess director Ronald DeSmet, who is a Belgian citizen and commercial pilot. Ronald advised to set up the base in Ostend airport in Belgium because that was the only airport in western Europe that allows the older, stage-II aircraft to operate.

The operation was to be set up as an investment and as such it should have provided Victor the right to reside in Belgium. The matter was handled by a group of legal and financial advisors, and was to be managed by Ronald DeSmet. The documents related to this matter are provided here. Hundred of thousands of dollars were spent on lawyers, consultants, and accounts fees, and hundreds more were wasted by Ronald DeSmet on travel, housing, and PR. Victor went to Belgium and met with the government's officials to find out that he was mislead by Ronald. As such, the project was folded and Victor asked Ronald to shut down whatever he started.

Just after the infamous UN report 1225 was published, Peleman announced that the Belgian government will be investigating the activities of Victor Bout in Belgium; later the Belgian government announced that they are investigating Victor for illegally entering Belgium and for money laundering. Victor was in Belgium as "Victor Bout" as proven by the official communication (provided here) and on a visa issued by the Belgian consulate in UAE. Victor was not a signor on any bank account and was not involved in any banking or financial activities in Belgium. Nonetheless, the Belgian court issued a summon for Victor, he ignored it, so a warrant for his arrest was issued.

It was obvious that the groundless allegations aimed to form legal grounds and to show cause to permit the Belgian authorities to officially investigate Victor Bout and his activities. The investigation which lasted for 10 full years cost the Belgian government more than $2.5 million dollar (1.7 million Euro) and it was, of course, conducted with the assistance of Johan Peleman.

After thoroughly investigating every possible lead and theory provided in the UN reports, the alleged experts, and the media, the matter was kept open for the entire legal time-frame possible. After 10 years the case was closed, the warrant was cancelled, and the investigation was concluded in finding no evidence whatsoever to substantiate any of the allegations against Victor Bout. The court final decision is provided here for a reference.

Ronald DeSmet embezzled over one million dollar from this project and he moved to Africa where he purchased a diamond mine in Congo with the help of his partner Sanjivan Ruprah. Both DeSmet and Ruprah received immunity from the US government on the condition that they provide information against Victor Bout; they made up some stories to make the US government happy. The stories did not check out and the US government is now after both of them. Ronald DeSmet's mine did not work as he expected, and after travelling between Europe and the UAE, he sold his properties in Europe, divorced his wife, and moved back to Africa. Ruprah still lives in Africa

The US case brought in Thailand This case started on March 6, 2008 and is still going on. The charges alleged by the US government against Viktor is "conspiring to sell arms" an outcome is expected on April 29, 2009 and the final outcome should be expected around September or October 2009 upon the completion of an appeal process.