Thirteen suspects are to stand trial over a multimillion-dollar plot to buy military equipment and weapons through the UAE's financial system and send them to the Sudanese Armed Forces for use in the country's civil war.
The UAE's Public Prosecution on Thursday revealed details of how it thwarted a complex plan to smuggle the illicit weapons out of the Emirates to Port Sudan.
The investigation uncovered 13 suspects – including a former Sudanese military intelligence officer – and six companies implicated in attempts to carry out six arms deals.
The Sudanese army is alleged to have paid $10 million in commission to the accused and a further $3 million in bribes to secure the weapons and hardware.
This included payments for materiel including Kalashnikov rifles, machineguns and grenades to be used in the army's fight against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Authorities said the accused falsified documents in the UAE. The main broker between the weapons dealers and the army is said to have been a Sudanese businessman who owns and operates the six companies implicated.
The investigation found that the case is linked to procurement arrangements requested by the armament committee of the Sudanese government, led by army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his deputy Yasser Al Atta, with co-ordination attributed to Othman Al Zubair Mohammed.
The scope of the charges also includes people alleged to have played roles in direction and co-ordination, including Salah Saleh, known as Salah Gosh.
The suspects who will face trial have been identified as:
- Rashed Omar Abdul Qader Ali
- Mohammed Al Fath Mohammed Beik
- Salah Abdallah Mohammed Saleh
- Abdullah Khalafallah
- Ahmed Rabie Sayed Ahmed Mohammed
- Yasser Abdulrahman Hassan Al Atta
- Othman Mohammed Al Zubair Mohammed
- Maher Abduljalil Mohammed Abduljalil
- Khaled Yousef Mukhtar Yousef
- Ahmed Khalafallah Abdullah Ahmed
- Mubarak Ali Al Sheikh Mohammed
- Othman Bakr Ali Karrar
- Musab Awad Al Karim Hassan Mohammed
The six companies implicated were:
- Rashed Omar Brokerage Company
- Portex Trade Limited
- Wardat Al Masarra Trading Company
- Sudamina Company
- Yellow Sand Trading Company
- Apollara Electronics Trading Company
The suspects face charges of illicit trafficking in military materiel, forgery and use of official documents, as well as laundering the proceeds of these crimes.
According to prosecutors, the operation was carried out through two interrelated transactions involving prior planning and the use of commercial and financial fronts.
In the first transaction, concluded outside the UAE, an agreement was reached to supply military materiel including Kalashnikov rifles, machineguns, and grenades, with a declared value of $13 million.
The second transaction was executed within the UAE using more than $2 million from the proceeds of the first deal to procure an additional shipment of ammunition. Part of this shipment was brought into the country through fraudulent means to conceal its true nature, via a private aircraft in preparation for transfer to Port Sudan.
Authorities succeeded in uncovering the operation, tracking financial flows and shipments, and foiling the scheme before it could be carried out. The suspects were arrested and the attempted transit of materiel was prevented.
Investigations further revealed that the scheme extended beyond the seized shipment, including preparations to smuggle five million more rounds of ammunition through six more transactions. The disruption of the first shipment prevented these operations from going ahead.
The investigation led to the seizure and analysis of financial and commercial records, documents and official correspondence, as well as tracked bank transfers and cash flows linked to the transactions. The evidence also included confessions from several of the suspects, as well as recordings and communications demonstrating co-ordination among the suspects.
UAE Attorney General Dr Hamid Al Shamsi last year announced that authorities had foiled an attempt to send weapons and military materiel to the Sudanese government by unlawful means, leading to the arrest of several suspects and forming the basis for the current case.
In its concluding statement, the Public Prosecution stressed that the UAE will not tolerate any attempt to use its territory, institutions or financial system for unlawful purposes, and affirmed that the sovereignty and security of the state are a red line and that the law will be applied to all involved.
Sudan's civil war began in April 2023, when tension between the army, led by Gen Al Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, erupted into open conflict. What began as a power struggle between the two generals has escalated into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and almost 13 million displaced during the past three years of war.
