Regulatory gaps making UK a ‘hotspot’ for illegal arms sales

Amnesty International said its latest report shows corporate regulation shortcomings are making the UK a hotspot for companies involved in illicit arms transfers.

Commercial documents name S-Profit Ltd, a tiny UK-registered company, as the supplier in a 2014 deal to provide at least $46 million in small arms, light weapons and ammunition to South Sudan.

Other documents show a sequence of commercial offers and contract negotiations involving the firm, some unfinished, for the prospective supply of armoured vehicles, weapons and aircraft to Egypt, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Ukraine and Peru, as well as to private companies in Serbia, Ukraine, Poland and Australia. Amnesty has not identified UK trade control licences for any of these negotiations or deals.

James Lynch, head of arms control and human rights at Amnesty International, said: “South Sudan is awash with weapons that have been used to kill and maim thousands of civilians, causing Africa’s biggest refugee crisis. The UK government has been a vocal proponent of a UN arms embargo on South Sudan, yet is turning a blind eye to illegal deals taking place right under its nose.

“Glaring gaps in UK company regulation mean a dealer of illicit arms can go online and set up a UK company to front its activities with fewer checks than joining a gym or hiring a car. The UK must urgently review its company registration procedures – right now it provides the perfect conditions to become a hotspot for the kind of irresponsible arms transfers that have devastated South Sudan.”

The weapons in question form part of a previously undisclosed 2014 contract between a Ukrainian state arms company and a UAE-based company to procure $169 million in weapons on behalf of South Sudan. If fulfilled, it would constitute one of the largest publicly disclosed arms transfers to South Sudan since the outbreak of fighting in late 2013.

S-Profit’s director, a Ukrainian national based outside the UK, denied to Amnesty that the firm had supplied military products to South Sudan.