BRITAIN - THEY IMPLICATE FORMER 'HONORARY CONSUL' OF SOUTH SUDAN IN CYPRUS, IN A SCANDAL OF WEAPONS SYSTEMS - 'THEY HAD ARRANGED THE SUPPLY OF WEAPONS TO IRAN, IRAQ AND SYRIA' - Filenews 14/4
In a case of a scandal with arms intermediaries, who settled illegal agreements for the supply of Soviet-origin anti-aircraft missile systems in South Sudan and fighter jets in Libya during the civil war, British Prosecutors are implicating the 48-year-old Greek citizen Christos Farmakis, who was the "honorary consul" of South Sudan in Greece and Cyprus.
According to what was said before a court on Tuesday in London, 68-year-old British citizen David Greenhalgh, and Christos Farmakis, face 11 and 12 charges respectively for involvement in an unlicensed supply of weapons during the period 2009-2016.
Both have pleaded not guilty and their trial began this week at Southwark Crown Court. The jury was informed that Farmakis chose not to attend the trial, which is proceeding in his absence.
Prosecutor Edmund Burge said Greenhalgh and Farmakis had "very close connections with senior figures" in South Sudan, adding that Farmakis had been appointed South Sudan's "honorary consul" to Greece and Cyprus.
According to the prosecution, the two defendants brokered an agreement regarding a "complete anti-aircraft missile system", which was acquired by Ukraine for almost €55 million between 2009 and 2011.
Burge added that South Sudan was still formally part of Sudan until it gained independence in 2011, which meant that the then semi-autonomous region was under a British arms embargo.
According to him, Greenhalgh and Farmakis discussed the possibility of securing an end-user certificate from Uganda as a "cover-up" to conceal the true destination of the missile system.
The prosecutor also said Farmakis was arrested in 2016 after using his email address from his position at the state-funded Greater London Enterprise to privately arrange arms deals.
According to the prosecution, a message had been forwarded from Farmakis' email account to his supervisor, which led the authorities to identify documents related to plans to sell fighter jets and other weapons systems to Libya after the Arab Spring of 2011.
The prosecutor also said emails and other documents suggested that Greenhalgh and Farmakis had arranged arms supplies to Iran, Iraq and Syria in violation of an arms embargo.
The trial, which is expected to conclude in June, continues.
