Arms dealer faces investigation over his sales to Sudan
By Gethin Chamberlain
LONDON, Nov 29, 2004 (The Scotsman) — The government has ordered an investigation into the activities of an arms dealer exposed by The Scotsman last week for attempting to sell aircraft and weapons to the Sudanese government.
The British businessman, John Knight, admitted that he tried to broker a deal to supply Antonov planes – of a type used by the Khartoum regime to bomb its own people in Darfur – and large numbers of other weapons at a time when the ethnic cleansing in Darfur was at its height. Now an investigation has been ordered into whether he should face criminal prosecution.
The government whip, Baroness Crawley, in a written answer to a question tabled in the House of Lords by Lord Alton of Liverpool last week, said: “Since the report concerning the alleged activities of a British businessman with regard to the sale of arms to Sudan came to light, inquiries have been under way to see if there is sufficient information for UK authorities to commence a criminal investigation.
“For legal reasons, I am unable to comment further on the nature and extent of these inquiries.”
Baroness Crawley said that the UK enforced rigorously the EU arms embargo against Sudan by the “scrupulous consideration” of export licence applications, the investigation of alleged breaches and through dialogue with other states. She also pointed out that the new restrictions on trade to embargoed destinations came into force in March.
“These controls have full extraterritorial reach. Seeking to trade in controlled goods to Sudan without a licence would constitute an offence and the broker would be liable to prosecution,” she said.
Mr Knight has denied breaking any laws, but admits to negotiating on behalf of the Sudanese government despite an EU embargo on arms deals with Khartoum.
The issue was raised in the Lords by Lord Alton, an independent crossbench peer, in response to The Scotsman’s report on Mr Knight’s activities.
He asked the government what information it had concerning the recently reported sale of arms by a British businessman to Sudan.
In a speech in the Lords last week, he again referred to The Scotsman article.
“In Africa, weapons of mass destruction are often small arms or munitions shamelessly sold by Western business interests,” he said.
“In an interview with The Scotsman on 18 November, the arms dealer said that as weapons had been supplied to Hitler he saw no issue in selling arms to Khartoum. He had been asked to supply 130mm field guns, T72 main battle tanks, multiple rocket launchers and semi-automatic pistols, and although these weapons were ultimately caught by the Export Control Act, he did supply Antonov AN26 transport planes. He said that he believed they would be used to drop aid. “These planes, of course, can be fitted with bomb racks.”
Britain has spoken out against the human-rights abuses in Darfur, but has stopped short of endorsing the US description of Khartoum’s acts as genocide.