Two Men Convicted of Brokering Arms Sales to Libya, Sudan and South Sudan

David Greenhalgh, 68, of Croydon in south London, and Christos Farmakis, 48, a Greek citizen, were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday of facilitating black-market arms deals to Libya, Sudan and South Sudan. The illicit operation ran from 2009 to 2016.

The defendants obtained weapons stockpiles from Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia and the Czech Republic, then sold them at inflated prices to buyers who could not access legitimate channels.

The weapons offered included Russian fighter jets, helicopter gunships, tens of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition, bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles. One transaction involved a Ukrainian air-defence missile system valued at £41 million, brokered between 2009 and 2011.

Prosecutor Edmund Burge KC stated the arms were supplied "with no paperwork required and no licence from the UK applied for or obtained".

Greenhalgh and Farmakis falsified end-user certificates to conceal the true destinations of their weapons shipments. The forged documents fraudulently indicated the arms were heading to nations not subject to international sanctions. Farmakis exploited his position as an adviser to Greater London Enterprise, a government-funded quango.

He absconded from the UK after being released on bail and was tried in his absence. The convictions followed a seven-year investigation by HM Revenue and Customs. " Greenhalgh is a divorced father of two.

He later remarried and had a child in 2017 with Ugandan partner Parks Dee Laker. 5 million from Greenhalgh's aviation business. Both defendants face sentencing on July 22.