Viktor Anatolyevich Bout is a Russian arms dealer and politician. A weapons manufacturer and former Soviet military translator, he used his multiple companies to smuggle arms from See more

Bout's origins are unclear. United Nations documents and Bout himself both state his birthplace as Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union (now the capital of Tajikistan), and that his date of birth … See more

Bout's strategy of constantly moving locations, owning numerous companies, and frequently re-registering aircraft made it hard for … See more

The day after his Bangkok arrest, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Bout with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, … See more

Bout served in the Soviet Armed Forces. There is no definite information on his military career except that he graduated from the Soviet See more

1990s
It is believed that Bout as a former member of the Soviet military was perfectly positioned to purchase surplus Soviet-era military … See more

In June 2020, a Reuters article highlighted that following the charging of U.S. Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan, Moscow was exploring the possibility of a prisoner swap exchanging Whelan … See more