ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images
- Viktor Bout is brokering weapons sales to Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, per The Wall Street Journal.
- Bout was released in a prisoner swap for Brittney Griner after a decade in US custody.
- Houthi rebels have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea since last year.
The notorious Russian arms dealer, who was exchanged for US basketball star Brittney Griner two years ago, is trying to sell weapons to the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Viktor Bout, sometimes dubbed the "Merchant of Death," was arrested in a US sting operation in 2008, having spent decades smuggling Soviet-made weapons from Europe to the Middle East and Africa.
He was later convicted on multiple charges, including conspiracy to kill American citizens and officials and delivery of anti-aircraft missiles.
After serving a decade in US custody, he was released in 2022 as part of a high-profile prisoner swap for Griner, who had been detained in Russia after bringing a small amount of cannabis oil into the country.
Following his release, Bout appeared to have shifted his focus to politics, joining a pro-Kremlin ultranationalist party and winning a local assembly seat.
However, according to the Journal, he is back in the business of brokering arms deals — a fear that Pentagon officials expressed just days after his release.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, including a European security official, the Journal reported that Bout was present at a negotiation in Moscow in August, in which the Houthis sought to negotiate the purchase of $10 million worth of automatic weapons.
The sources told the publication that two Houthi representatives had traveled to Moscow under the cover of buying vehicles and pesticides.
They told the Journal that they did not know if the deal was being negotiated on behalf of the Kremlin or just with its quiet support.
The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
According to the people familiar with the matter speaking to the Journal, the deliveries, mostly of AK-74s, could start as early as October under the cover of food supplies.
Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea since last year, though some attacks have targeted Israeli and US military vessels.
The US and Western allies launched counterattacks to thwart these efforts, which have had major economic implications.
According to an April Defense Intelligence Agency report, container shipping through the Red Sea has declined massively, alternative shipping routes are increasing voyage costs, and insurance premiums for Red Sea transits have spiked.
"Currently, we are seeing premiums as high as 2% on vessel value for a single Red Sea transit amid fluctuating insurer appetite," Louise Nevill, UK CEO, marine, cargo & logistics, with broker Marsh, told Reuters earlier this month. That's compared to a figure 0.7% just weeks earlier.
In January, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at a press conference that the Houthis' attacks on international shipping are "a threat to everyone."
The Houthis have also launched drones and missiles at Israel, which they say is in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
For months, US intelligence agencies have warned that Russia might arm Houthi rebels with anti-ship missiles in retaliation for US support for Ukraine, according to the Journal.
"These attacks are having a real effect on the prices that people have to pay for food, for medicine, for energy," Blinken said. "Ships have to get diverted to other places, insurance rates go up, and the basic principle of freedom of navigation is what's at stake."
While the weapons deal reportedly orchestrated by Viktor Bout does not involve anti-ship missiles, it would still represent a notable Russian intervention in the ongoing Red Sea crisis.