Khaberni - British prosecutors informed a court in London on Tuesday that two arms dealers arranged illegal deals to supply South Sudan with missile systems from former Soviet Union countries, and to supply Libya with fighter jets during the country's civil war.
The British national David Greenhalgh (68 years old) faces 11 charges and the Greek national Christos Pharmakis (48 years old) faces 12 charges for their involvement in unlicensed arms supply between 2009 and 2016.
The two pleaded not guilty, and their trial began this week at Southwark Crown Court. The jury was informed that Pharmakis had no desire to attend the trial.
The prosecutor, Edmund Borg, stated that Greenhalgh and Pharmakis had "very close relationships with high-level figures" in South Sudan, where Pharmakis was appointed as "Honorary Consul" of South Sudan in Greece and Cyprus.
He added that the defendants brokered a deal to purchase a "complete air defense missile system," acquired from Ukraine; for approximately $55 million between 2009 and 2011.
Borg stated that South Sudan was still officially part of Sudan until it gained its independence in 2011, which meant that the semi-autonomous region was subject to a British arms embargo.
He added that Greenhalgh and Pharmakis discussed obtaining an end-user certificate from Uganda to serve as "cover" that would conceal the true destination of the missile system.
Borg said that authorities arrested Pharmakis in 2016 after he used his work email address at Greater London Enterprise, government-funded, to arrange secret arms deals.
He added that Pharmakis’s email account redirected an email to his boss at work, which led to the authorities discovering documents related to plans for selling fighter jets and other weapons to Libya following the Arab Spring in 2011.
Borg mentioned that emails and other documents indicate that Greenhalgh and Pharmakis also agreed to supply weapons to Iran, Iraq, and Syria, in violation of arms embargo resolutions.
The trial is still ongoing, and it is scheduled to conclude in June.
