0:00:02 > 0:00:08This programme contains some strong language
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Everybody, hands up!
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Hands up!
0:01:33 > 0:01:35You are under arrest.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05- TV:- 'Bout's involvement with arms dealing was
0:02:05 > 0:02:08'the inspiration for the film Lord Of War starring Nicolas Cage.'
0:02:10 > 0:02:14'Viktor Bout was ready to sell 20 million dollars worth of weapons.'
0:02:14 > 0:02:16They call him the Merchant of Death.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'America's only bargaining chip over Edward Snowden.'
0:02:20 > 0:02:23One of the most dangerous men on the face of the Earth.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- REPORTER:- Do you have any regrets, Mr Bout?
0:03:06 > 0:03:08This is my first visit to America.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13On the drive to jail I saw the Brooklyn Bridge.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15POLICE SIREN WAILS
0:03:15 > 0:03:17I recognised it from the movies.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Today, in Manhattan Federal Court,
0:03:30 > 0:03:35accused arm dealer Viktor Bout begins to face American justice.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39The so-called Merchant of Death is now a federal inmate.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42After more than two years of extradition proceedings,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46a Thai court ordered Bout extradited to the United States for
0:03:46 > 0:03:50his alleged agreement to supply an arsenal of military grade
0:03:50 > 0:03:53weapons to men he believed,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56one, represented the Colombian terrorist group
0:03:56 > 0:04:01known as the FARC, and two, were bent on killing Americans.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12REPORTER: What do you feel about the way ahead?
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Do you think that he's likely to be acquitted or found guilty?
0:05:19 > 0:05:23It's increasingly difficult to talk with any degree of clarity
0:05:23 > 0:05:28about what Viktor Bout is or has done
0:05:28 > 0:05:33without being seduced into one of two very simple narratives.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36One, evil, all-powerful super-villain merchant of death
0:05:36 > 0:05:38got his comeuppance.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42And the other, stooge and victim of a conspiracy.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45I think both of those very simplistic ideas do everybody
0:05:45 > 0:05:47a tremendous disservice.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Because they allow us
0:05:49 > 0:05:52to avoid confronting some very tough questions -
0:05:52 > 0:05:55questions about how the arms trade actually works
0:05:55 > 0:05:56and about who comes out on top
0:05:56 > 0:06:00when all the sins of the industry are laid at the doorstep of one man.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10I sit in solitary confinement. They call it special housing unit.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Every day I listen to the Puerto Rican radio station,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15teach myself to salsa.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19I have a lot of time for my thoughts.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23I was born in the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30My mother was book-keeper, my father auto mechanic.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33In school I played volleyball and chased after girls.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36But my real hobby was Esperanto, the universal language.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41I believed one day the world will all speak in one tongue.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47COCOPHONY OF LANGUAGES
0:07:00 > 0:07:02I did my service in the Soviet Army,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06then study at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11I wanted to study French but they put me in Portuguese.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14I was placed in intensive ten-months course.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19In 1987, I leave Soviet Union for first time.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23I was 20 years old on my way to Mozambique.
0:07:36 > 0:07:37Viva!
0:07:38 > 0:07:39Viva!
0:07:40 > 0:07:41Viva!
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Arriving in Africa was like seeing widescreen motion picture
0:07:50 > 0:07:51in colour for first time -
0:07:51 > 0:07:56bright sky, red soil, antelopes, crocodiles and zebras,
0:07:56 > 0:08:01sunsets and sounds of village drums beating deep inside my core.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06I was in Mozambique for a year when I meet Alla Protassova,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09four years older than me and married to a journalist.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12She was a fashion designer in St Petersburg.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05TV: 'Good evening. The stunning overthrow of Mikhail Gorbachev
0:09:05 > 0:09:08'by communist hardliners dominates the news this Monday.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11'Gorbachev was reported under house arrest as Soviet tanks took
0:09:11 > 0:09:13'up position throughout Moscow.'
0:09:13 > 0:09:15- TV:- 'The central role of the Soviet Communist Party
0:09:15 > 0:09:17'may at last be ending.'
0:09:24 > 0:09:27HUBBUB
0:10:38 > 0:10:40TV: 'There are scenes of extraordinary drama here
0:10:40 > 0:10:41'in Moscow tonight.'
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- TV:- 'Buses are being used as barricades to guard approaches
0:10:44 > 0:10:45'to the square.'
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- TV:- 'Four people died - shot or crushed by armoured vehicles.'
0:10:56 > 0:10:59TV: 'This week has rocked the very foundations of Soviet power
0:10:59 > 0:11:01'since Stalin's time.'
0:11:01 > 0:11:03- TV:- 'Russian democrats now led by Boris Yeltsin
0:11:03 > 0:11:05'have seized the initiative.'
0:11:08 > 0:11:12TV: 'Gennady Yanayev, Vice President, under arrest.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15'Vladimir Kryuchkov, head of the KGB, under arrest.'
0:11:22 > 0:11:25- TV:- 'Tonight Moscow's skyline was ablaze with the sound
0:11:25 > 0:11:28'and sights of celebration as Boris Yeltsin prepared to sign
0:11:28 > 0:11:31'a decree suspending the Russian Communist Party.'
0:11:33 > 0:11:36TV: 'It was the end of an extraordinary episode
0:11:36 > 0:11:38'in Soviet history.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41'Mr Yeltsin declared we've won, the coup has been defeated.'
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- TV:- 'Russia he said has saved democracy, saved the world.'
0:11:57 > 0:12:01We moved into a one-room apartment and began our life together,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03just when the country was in ruin.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Every day, new adventure,
0:12:18 > 0:12:24not knowing if you can get food or what will happen, only here and now.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27So I quit the military and start to feel the atmosphere.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS
0:15:26 > 0:15:31If you had brain, it wasn't hard to make money in Moscow doing business.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34But all business in Moscow was dirty business.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39You had to have protection, and then protection from your protection.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43I said to Alla, "I don't need this, I am smart enough,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45"I can make money wherever I go."
0:15:48 > 0:15:52- TANNOY:- '..travelling to Dusseldorf,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55'immediate boarding, please, at gate D32.'
0:16:04 > 0:16:08In 1993, I started a new firm with old friend Sasha Kibkalo.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11We established a small company in Brussels -
0:16:11 > 0:16:14one secretary and two guys at that office.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Our business plan pretty simple -
0:16:46 > 0:16:51lease old Soviet cargo plane, sublease for three times as much.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Sasha makes deal with government of Angola - two years,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59100 flight hours each month,
0:16:59 > 0:17:021,200 bucks an hour. Easy stuff.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54We had a good thing in Belgium.
0:17:54 > 0:17:55But it did not last long.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Company fell apart.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Same problem as always - people not knowing how to share.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10I moved to Emirates, to the free trade zone.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Sharjah was the Hong Kong of Persian Gulf.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53We lived like traders in ancient times. Buying, packing, shipping,
0:18:53 > 0:18:5524 hours a day.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58For Viktor, running his business out of Sharjah was actually
0:18:58 > 0:19:00a masterstroke in a lot of ways,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04I mean, there was this huge battle over cargo waiting to be moved.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08It was the big bang, if you like, of what we know as globalisation.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14It was a surge of cargo. 200 tonnes to Russia every day.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17I remember persons who started with 300 US dollars,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21and in six months were trading millions.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24I asked my brother Sergei to help me with the business.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20Say hello.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24This man who was responsible for manufacturing of all that
0:20:24 > 0:20:26material which was there.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30This man who choose the material, and this man I don't know,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32but it looks like he is also with this man.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27MICHAEL BUERK: 'The leader of Angola's UNITA movement, Jonas Savimbi,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30'has accused the MPLA Government of cheating in the country's
0:23:30 > 0:23:34'first free elections and warned of a return to civil war.'
0:23:34 > 0:23:38- TV:- 'Savimbi has spent 31 years fighting to rule his country.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41'The danger is that he now urges his supporters to abandon
0:23:41 > 0:23:45'the democratic system to return to the guns.'
0:23:45 > 0:23:49I offered to Savimbi a training programme plus logistics support.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51I sent Slava and some Moscow guys.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20- TV:- 'For the past six weeks, UNITA has pounded the government forces.'
0:24:20 > 0:24:21- TV:- 'The rebels have regrouped
0:24:21 > 0:24:23'and now they're mounting a cruel guerrilla war.'
0:24:23 > 0:24:26TV: 'Angolan forces are moving west to cut of the rebels' supply lines
0:24:26 > 0:24:27'in the north.'
0:24:45 > 0:24:48I always think of business as flowing river.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52You need to have more than 1,000 projects under consideration -
0:24:52 > 0:24:55maybe one of them is productive, and maybe makes money.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01For Viktor, Africa was sort of a happy hunting ground.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04There was so much to be done, not just in terms of destabilising
0:25:04 > 0:25:08commodities and in terms of arms, but the food for all
0:25:08 > 0:25:12of our supermarkets - tilapia fish, flowers, chickens.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14There were lots and lots of reasons
0:25:14 > 0:25:17for all these planes to be out there, legitimate reasons.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30I was always excited to study new technologies and see
0:25:30 > 0:25:35what can be used, especially in Africa where everything is needed.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Viktor and I met on the airfield in Kisangani in the Congo, 1996,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46'97, I forget the exact date.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49I'd been doing some work for an airline,
0:25:49 > 0:25:51which was delivering aid for the Red Cross,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55and it so happened we were the only two white men in town that night.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57So, we were staying in the same half-decent hotel.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00And we had a couple of beers together.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04I should explain the local beer in the Congo is called Primus.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06And it comes in one litre bottles.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10So, you know, you only buy a couple of bottles in an evening and you are
0:26:10 > 0:26:11fairly well accommodated.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16We talked about politics, we talked about climate change,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19and I find him quite a good conversationalist.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22I didn't know anything about him at that time.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25He was someone who was involved in the air freight business,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27I was aware he was quite good at it.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33He was running quite a large freight of Russian transport aircrafts
0:26:33 > 0:26:37from West Africa and from Liberia, across into the Congo,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40including, on some occasions, carrying guns.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57What's the altitude now?
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Altitude? 28,000 feet, my friend...
0:27:00 > 0:27:03- OK, very good. - ..above the sea level.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Peter Mirchev, you could say, was Viktor's wholesaler,
0:27:11 > 0:27:13the arms dealer with whom Viktor worked.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16He is a Bulgarian, based in Burge and Sharjah.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45With the collapse of the Soviet Union,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49the Bulgarians were desperate to sell arms because you can't suddenly
0:27:49 > 0:27:54go overnight from making Kalashnikov weapons to making washing machines.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00There is a valley in Bulgaria where all the perfume comes from.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02It also has two very big gun factories.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15The most beautiful sight I ever saw was the blood red poppies
0:30:15 > 0:30:17blooming in the spring.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23It was in Afghanistan that things took a wrong turn.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29August 3rd, 1995, I get a phone call.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32One of my planes transporting 30 tonnes of ammunition was
0:30:32 > 0:30:34intercepted by Taliban forces.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40I meet with Mullah Omar,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43leader of Taliban, to negotiate the release of pilots.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48But fucking Taliban hate me because I flied for government in Taliban.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51- TV:- 'As winter settles in, defence minister Ahmad Shah Massoud
0:30:51 > 0:30:53'prepares government forces for a final stunt.'
0:30:57 > 0:30:58IN ARABIC:
0:30:58 > 0:31:00THEY ROAR
0:31:00 > 0:31:04My pilots were held hostage for more than a year.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07Then Massoud helped organise an escape plan.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12During Friday prayers, my men make the move.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19After the boys come home, my company was stronger than ever.
0:32:25 > 0:32:31By 25, I was a millionaire. My business growing every year.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33By 30, I had an empire.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35The confidential sources had two recorders on them to ensure
0:34:35 > 0:34:39that if one failed, that we would still have one good recorder.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43The operation to catch Mr Bout was called Operation Relentless.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48I was one of the two lead agents on the case along with Wim Brown.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51We tried to find an individual that could lead us
0:34:51 > 0:34:54to Viktor Bout that operated with Bout in the past.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58And that penetration point to us was Andrew Smulian.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02He was an older gentleman
0:35:02 > 0:35:07that had managed one of Bout's companies in South Africa...
0:35:07 > 0:35:11and he was not always a very successful guy in his endeavours,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13was down on his luck,
0:35:13 > 0:35:17and we believed that Andrew would be a willing partner in this scenario.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Mr Smulian, in approximately what year
0:35:20 > 0:35:22did you first meet the defendant?
0:35:22 > 0:35:241997.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28He was looking for a base from which to operate in South Africa.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Where in South Africa did you set up the defendant's business?
0:35:31 > 0:35:35In a town called Pietersburg, just north of Johannesburg.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38MUSIC: Ain't That A Kick In The Head by Dean Martin
0:35:53 > 0:35:55APPLAUSE
0:36:33 > 0:36:34LAUGHTER
0:36:39 > 0:36:40APPLAUSE
0:36:46 > 0:36:49'I had projects in Mauritania,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52'diamond concession in Central African Republic,
0:36:52 > 0:36:53'charter business in Europe,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56'but I decided to make South Africa my home -
0:36:56 > 0:36:58'lots of opportunity there,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02'transporting wild animals to zoos and private collectors.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11'But big problem - their business runs the plane.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13'So my guys would engineer cargo hold
0:37:13 > 0:37:17'and within three months we take over the cargo market.'
0:39:03 > 0:39:05The next day, they attacked the office.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25My name is Albert Dayan. I'm the lead counsel for Viktor Bout.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28Thank you all for coming. I just want to let you know
0:40:28 > 0:40:32that today we have selected the jury that will preside over his trial.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36'I must have been like the 30th lawyer
0:40:36 > 0:40:39'that Viktor had seen prior to his selection.'
0:40:40 > 0:40:41He had seen lawyers that would tell him,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44"Look, Viktor, you got to go in and co-operate
0:40:44 > 0:40:46"in order for you to come out of a federal case."
0:40:46 > 0:40:49He is, at this point, detained in downtown Manhattan
0:40:49 > 0:40:52in solitary confinement.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54I believe that he believed
0:40:54 > 0:40:58that I believed that he was innocent.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02The DEA agents, they knew that Viktor Bout
0:41:02 > 0:41:06had two airplanes in the Congo that he wanted to sell.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08So they get Viktor into a meeting
0:41:08 > 0:41:12and entrap him into saying certain things.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38There's a lot of people
0:41:38 > 0:41:41that aren't particularly fond of sting operations,
0:41:41 > 0:41:45if you want to call it that. Some people call it entrapment.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50But I don't see this being entrapment in really any sense.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55Entrapment is tempting someone to engage in an illicit activity
0:41:55 > 0:41:58that they have absolutely no experience in,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01and that certainly wasn't the case here.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03The arms trade was Viktor's trade.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07He had been a professional in that field for a long time.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11He was offered an opportunity and he had every ability to say no to it.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25'Carlos and Ricardo worked for us.'
0:42:25 > 0:42:26We sat down there in advance,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29went over the scripts, on how we wanted this to play out.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32At any point, Viktor could have stepped out of this scenario
0:42:32 > 0:42:35and said, "I'm not in it. I just want to sell planes."
0:42:35 > 0:42:36If you're in a meeting
0:42:36 > 0:42:39and someone starts talking about killing Americans,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42the first place that I'd be going is the door.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52What kind of man is he? Is he a man who could deal arms?
0:42:52 > 0:42:54HE TRANSLATES INTO RUSSIAN
0:43:35 > 0:43:37BIRDSONG
0:44:30 > 0:44:33TV: 'It's been a long and brutal war in the Congo.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35'In the last year,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38'the conflict has been at its worst in the region around Bunia,
0:44:38 > 0:44:42'sparking fears of a Rwanda-style genocide.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46- TV:- 'Following the assassination of President Laurent Kabila,
0:44:46 > 0:44:48'former businessman Jean-Pierre Bemba
0:44:48 > 0:44:50'rallies support in local elections
0:44:50 > 0:44:52'for his Uganda-backed MLC party.'
0:44:59 > 0:45:04Congo is the biggest untapped trunk of natural resources in all Africa.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07That's why wars there will be endless.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15Here he is, Viktor Bout...
0:45:16 > 0:45:19..Bemba's man in Congo.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25The first time I saw Viktor...
0:45:26 > 0:45:30..I heard his first name and then he gave me his card, business card -
0:45:30 > 0:45:35"Viktor Bout from Central African Airways, based in Kigali, Rwanda".
0:45:37 > 0:45:39Viktor, he loved to be in the fields.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42He could have gone to a hotel,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45but he preferred to stay in a little tent on the airport.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Usually in the morning, he took a little while
0:45:48 > 0:45:50for making satellite phone calls.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00And then, when that was finished, he put away his phone
0:46:00 > 0:46:02and he was a tourist
0:46:02 > 0:46:06in one of the most turbulent areas of the world, East Congo.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Viktor was filming the whole experience here
0:46:25 > 0:46:26of Bemba visiting the town of Aru.
0:46:45 > 0:46:46This was supposed to be
0:46:46 > 0:46:49the first real elections after Mobutu left the country.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54And here he was, establishing his party in the area
0:46:54 > 0:46:59by visiting all these small towns, talking about how he would bring
0:46:59 > 0:47:02electricity and medicines to the people.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05He had all these fantastic proposals.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09But there were stories about what his troops did with prisoners of war,
0:47:09 > 0:47:13rape and looting and even cannibalism,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16and that's the stories that finally ended him up
0:47:16 > 0:47:19in the prison of the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Un, deux, trois.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42CHILDREN SING:
0:47:48 > 0:47:52In this place, a few weeks after we left there,
0:47:52 > 0:47:55some horrible killings were done.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57SINGING CONTINUES
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Viktor saw Bemba as a future.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11He was talking about what he might do
0:48:11 > 0:48:15in an area controlled by Bemba that was peaceful,
0:48:15 > 0:48:19creating satellite communication businesses, agricultural businesses,
0:48:19 > 0:48:23creating free-trade zones.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25That was also one of his ideas.
0:48:26 > 0:48:27When we met,
0:48:27 > 0:48:31the first UN report in which Viktor Bout was actually mentioned
0:48:31 > 0:48:33as one of the main sanction busters
0:48:33 > 0:48:35had already been published.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38And he said that everything that was told about him was rubbish.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40He said, "I'm not an arms trader.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43"It's possible that I've transported arms,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46"but I am a businessman, and I have lots of planes,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48"and I don't care what I transport,
0:48:48 > 0:48:50"because that's not my responsibility."
0:48:50 > 0:48:53But every war I mentioned, he had been there,
0:48:53 > 0:48:58been in Somalia, in Sudan, in Uganda, in Rwanda, in Burundi.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00But he denied that he was fuelling wars,
0:49:00 > 0:49:04he was just trying to see situations where he could make money.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08My friend the photographer and I,
0:49:08 > 0:49:12we knew that it was not going to be easy to take a picture of him,
0:49:12 > 0:49:13because he had one of his bodyguards.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17He had sort of a big Rambo kind of knife,
0:49:17 > 0:49:21and when he saw at some point that we were actually aiming at Viktor,
0:49:21 > 0:49:26he took the knife out and he made sort of this cutting throat movement.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58Wim was a very good photographer,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02so he used a wide-angle lens and he was aiming at the soldiers
0:50:02 > 0:50:05but actually was just having Viktor in the picture,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08so I think he managed to make five shots.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16And these were the first pictures of Viktor taken in the field ever...
0:50:17 > 0:50:20..so they had a wide circulation. It went on the internet.
0:50:21 > 0:50:25The end was near - that was clear, the moment the pictures were taken.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28AFRICAN MUSIC PLAYS ON RADIO
0:50:57 > 0:50:59RHYTHMIC SHOUTING
0:51:03 > 0:51:07'By 2000, I had a lot of government contracts in Africa.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10'When Kagame became president of Rwanda,
0:51:10 > 0:51:12'he hired my guys to train his troops.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27'The cargo business was too easy for me.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31'I made money, but it was just means to an end.
0:51:33 > 0:51:38'I wanted to travel, see world, make documentary film.'
0:52:21 > 0:52:27The last time I saw Viktor was in the Sheraton in Kampala,
0:52:27 > 0:52:31and he was there trying to get money off President Museveni.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34He reckoned the Ugandan government owed him eight million bucks
0:52:34 > 0:52:35for transportation costs.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59I think that the first time Viktor Bout was on my radar
0:52:59 > 0:53:01was in the late '90s,
0:53:01 > 0:53:05and it was just seeing this name cropping up again and again.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10Viktor Bout is indeed the chief sanctions buster at the present time,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12a real merchant of death.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49- TV:- 'He's known as the world's most efficient postman,
0:53:49 > 0:53:52'delivering almost any cargo anywhere in the world,
0:53:52 > 0:53:53'especially if it's illicit weapons.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55'The notorious business of arms trafficking
0:53:55 > 0:53:58'has netted Viktor Bout hundreds of millions of dollars,
0:53:58 > 0:54:00'but he remains something of a mystery man.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02'Joining me now is Douglas Farah,
0:54:02 > 0:54:04'the co-author of The Merchant of Death:
0:54:04 > 0:54:07'Money, Guns, Planes And The Man Who Makes War Possible.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10'I've got to start off by asking you, who is this man?
0:54:10 > 0:54:13'How did he get so entrenched in so many different places at once?
0:54:13 > 0:54:16'Look, you never shoot the postman, and as you said earlier,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20'his mantra was to deliver the packages wherever they needed to go
0:54:20 > 0:54:21'and deliver them on time.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23'He switches his company's registrations,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25'he wires his money to different groups around the world,
0:54:25 > 0:54:27'he hides his tracks incredibly well.'
0:54:27 > 0:54:29Viktor's arms trafficking
0:54:29 > 0:54:34was less than 5% of his total uplift of cargo.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37Viktor Bout is not a merchant of death,
0:54:37 > 0:54:39he is a merchant of some death,
0:54:39 > 0:54:43because on occasion his aircraft willingly carried guns
0:54:43 > 0:54:47for people who used them to commit human rights abuses.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50One of the problems with the illegal arms trade
0:54:50 > 0:54:54is that most of it is actually probably not terribly illegal.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59Governments are actually quite loath to make international laws tougher,
0:54:59 > 0:55:03because it stops us supporting our friends.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07There's no law anywhere which says you can't carry guns.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10When you want to make money by carrying cargo,
0:55:10 > 0:55:13how many questions do you want to ask?
0:55:13 > 0:55:15As long as it's legal or appears to be legal,
0:55:15 > 0:55:17what else do you need to worry about?
0:56:48 > 0:56:50We had an earlier eyewitness that told us
0:56:50 > 0:56:53he thought it appeared to be a 737.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55SIRENS WAIL
0:57:01 > 0:57:03SCREAMING
0:57:06 > 0:57:08TV: 'Good evening and welcome.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10'Disaster has struck the United States,
0:57:10 > 0:57:11'with New York and Washington
0:57:11 > 0:57:13'reeling under a series of terrorist attacks.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16- TV:- 'Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger
0:57:16 > 0:57:18'and called to defend freedom.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21'Our grief has turned to anger...
0:57:21 > 0:57:23'and anger to resolution.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27'Whether we bring our enemies to justice...
0:57:27 > 0:57:30'or bring justice to our enemies...
0:57:30 > 0:57:32'justice will be done.'
0:57:32 > 0:57:34APPLAUSE
0:57:35 > 0:57:372001 was the point
0:57:37 > 0:57:40at which everybody started watching what was coming and going.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44Suddenly all eyes were on whatever was on every aeroplane in the world.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46You know, it all had to be checked.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48For Viktor, obviously this was very bad, because that meant
0:57:48 > 0:57:50that not only was there a lot of scrutiny
0:57:50 > 0:57:52suddenly coming on businesses like his,
0:57:52 > 0:57:54but Viktor had been doing business
0:57:54 > 0:57:57with some of the very people that were suddenly under the spotlight.
0:59:27 > 0:59:32The work visas were not renewed. We became personae non grata.
1:00:06 > 1:00:08TV: 'Bout was accused of fuelling conflicts...'
1:00:08 > 1:00:10- TV:- '..operating a fleet of 50 aircraft...'
1:00:10 > 1:00:13The other important thing to remember is that post 9/11,
1:00:13 > 1:00:14the standard of evidence you needed
1:00:14 > 1:00:17to call somebody a terrorist or in partnership with terrorism
1:00:17 > 1:00:19almost disappeared.
1:00:19 > 1:00:23And so people start floating ideas around it,
1:00:23 > 1:00:24and I think, in some instances,
1:00:24 > 1:00:29the US intelligence was mentioning things to journalists as rumours.
1:00:29 > 1:00:31The journalists would then write them.
1:00:31 > 1:00:36US intelligence would then quote those articles as substantiated fact
1:00:36 > 1:00:39and then begin to leak them and to sort of publicise them
1:00:39 > 1:00:41as "this proves it" and it's part of a dossier.
1:00:41 > 1:00:43It was all a bit of an echo chamber.
1:03:26 > 1:03:30I think that Viktor was naive to think he would clear his name...
1:03:30 > 1:03:31because, let's face it,
1:03:31 > 1:03:34it's quite nice to have the Russians as the villains.
1:03:34 > 1:03:36We're used to it, it's part of our comfort zone.
1:03:36 > 1:03:39And it's interesting that the Russian slang word for a gangster
1:03:39 > 1:03:42is "biznizman", B-I-Z-N-I-Z-M-A-N.
1:03:44 > 1:03:48Many ordinary Russians are quite unable to understand the difference
1:03:48 > 1:03:50between a businessman and a crook.
1:03:50 > 1:03:52I think that he...
1:03:52 > 1:03:57did not have sufficient moral fibre to necessarily realise
1:03:57 > 1:04:00when he was overstepping the mark and doing things that were wrong -
1:04:00 > 1:04:03morally wrong, as distinct from legally wrong.
1:04:10 > 1:04:12I think when you look back at the history
1:04:12 > 1:04:15of the American authorities' relationship with Viktor Bout,
1:04:15 > 1:04:17there's this sort of, "Shall we?" "Oh, no, let's not bother."
1:04:17 > 1:04:19"Shall we?" "Oh, let's..."
1:04:19 > 1:04:21"Who's this?" "Oh, he's always doing some naughty things."
1:04:21 > 1:04:24"Is it our problem?" "Not really." And you get this kind of...
1:04:24 > 1:04:27It's not even a cat and mouse game, it's a "can we be bothered?" game.
1:04:27 > 1:04:28And eventually, I think the tipping point
1:04:28 > 1:04:32was the point at which he started to become so prominent
1:04:32 > 1:04:33and to love the limelight so much.
1:04:33 > 1:04:35And this was the point at which he did
1:04:35 > 1:04:37the New York Times article and photo shoot.
1:05:07 > 1:05:10So, we sell by the kilo.
1:05:10 > 1:05:13They're second-hand weapons, but they're still OK.
1:05:13 > 1:05:16Is it true that there was a Hollywood film based on your story?
1:05:16 > 1:05:20I feel very sorry for Nicolas Cage, who went to play this role.
1:05:20 > 1:05:23It's very silly, and I feel pity for... It's bad movie.
1:05:23 > 1:05:26And he certainly isn't the huge villain he's painted.
1:05:26 > 1:05:28He's a fool rather than a villain.
1:05:34 > 1:05:37- SINGING:- In a way, it was nice to go back to Moscow,
1:05:37 > 1:05:40not have three mobile phones ringing day and night.
1:05:42 > 1:05:45I tried to explore new businesses.
1:05:45 > 1:05:47I manufactured kitchen tile,
1:05:47 > 1:05:53imported reindeer meat to Moscow restaurants, grow organic arugula.
1:05:53 > 1:05:55Most new projects don't make money.
1:05:55 > 1:05:57I go broke.
1:06:26 > 1:06:28UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
1:09:17 > 1:09:18PHONE RINGS
1:09:46 > 1:09:50In 2007, we made contact with Andrew Smulian.
1:09:50 > 1:09:52In January of 2008,
1:09:52 > 1:09:55Smulian goes to Moscow to make contact with Viktor Bout.
1:09:55 > 1:09:59Viktor trusted Smulian. I mean, that's the most basic understanding
1:09:59 > 1:10:02of what their relationship was.
1:10:02 > 1:10:04Within a very short period of time,
1:10:04 > 1:10:07Smulian left Moscow after discussing the specifics
1:10:07 > 1:10:11of this proposal by the FARC undercover operatives.
1:10:11 > 1:10:13Bout said that he could meet in Thailand,
1:10:13 > 1:10:15and at this point it was game time.
1:10:15 > 1:10:17PHONE RINGS
1:10:17 > 1:10:18Hello?
1:10:18 > 1:10:20OK, look, my side we now fully ready.
1:10:20 > 1:10:23- Yeah.- But we only meet, we don't do anything there.
1:10:23 > 1:10:26- OK. I'll talk to them in the morning, first thing.- OK.
1:11:41 > 1:11:43One of the tragic points about Viktor Bout
1:11:43 > 1:11:45is that he's clearly a very intelligent man
1:11:45 > 1:11:47and clearly had a lot of success early on,
1:11:47 > 1:11:51and I think in some ways that was his downfall.
1:11:51 > 1:11:53If he had known failure earlier in life,
1:11:53 > 1:11:57he wouldn't have grown up convinced of his own perfect judgment...
1:11:59 > 1:12:01..and he wouldn't have been so naive
1:12:01 > 1:12:03to walk into this room against everybody's advice,
1:12:03 > 1:12:05or against all the clues,
1:12:05 > 1:12:08against the kind of hamminess of the actors wearing the wire,
1:12:08 > 1:12:11against all the hints that they were giving.
1:12:11 > 1:12:12He wouldn't have blindly carried on,
1:12:12 > 1:12:15thinking, "I'm going to make the deal."
1:12:35 > 1:12:37- Everybody, hands up!- Hands up!
1:13:40 > 1:13:42Following Mr Bout's arrest,
1:13:42 > 1:13:44the Thais provided us an opportunity to talk to him,
1:13:44 > 1:13:48and I said, "Look, Mr Bout, I think it's only fair if I explain to you
1:13:48 > 1:13:51"that those two gentlemen that you were just negotiating with
1:13:51 > 1:13:54"back in the hotel for an hour or so
1:13:54 > 1:13:56"were actually DEA undercovers.
1:13:56 > 1:13:59"The entire meeting was recorded, and it came out crystal clear."
1:13:59 > 1:14:02And he looked down, put his head down for a minute,
1:14:02 > 1:14:05very quiet and reserved, and then just looked up and said,
1:14:05 > 1:14:09"Well, I guess you're holding all the cards, then, aren't you?"
1:14:11 > 1:14:14'After the arrest, DEA come and talk to me,
1:14:14 > 1:14:16'they say agree to extradition,
1:14:16 > 1:14:20'and if I don't go to New York I would rot in Thai jail.'
1:14:25 > 1:14:26There was a political desire
1:14:26 > 1:14:29to make somebody pay for the illegal arms trade.
1:14:29 > 1:14:31He was a convenient scapegoat.
1:14:31 > 1:14:34He's not the only Russian businessman
1:14:34 > 1:14:37whose aircraft have flown weapons.
1:14:37 > 1:14:40I'm certainly aware of also American businessmen that did the same thing.
1:14:40 > 1:14:43The tragedy is that there's been a huge waste of time and resources
1:14:43 > 1:14:46which has put somebody away in prison for God knows how long
1:14:46 > 1:14:49and has done absolutely nothing to try and curb
1:14:49 > 1:14:51the excesses of the illegal arms trade.
1:15:23 > 1:15:26So, after the bust, Smulian was offered a plea deal,
1:15:26 > 1:15:28and he agreed to testify against Viktor Bout.
1:15:28 > 1:15:30And this was the beginning
1:15:30 > 1:15:33of a kind of horse trading and politicking between the US and Russia
1:15:33 > 1:15:36to try and get him back onto their soil.
1:15:37 > 1:15:41- TV:- 'US prosecutors want to extradite him to stand trial,
1:15:41 > 1:15:44'but today a Thai judge rejected their request,
1:15:44 > 1:15:46'saying this was a political case
1:15:46 > 1:15:48'and that Thailand does not recognise FARC
1:15:48 > 1:15:49'as a terrorist group.'
1:15:50 > 1:15:52Viktor, your reaction?
1:15:52 > 1:15:55At one point, Thai authorities decided
1:15:55 > 1:15:59they had to send him back to Russia, and then there was an appeal,
1:15:59 > 1:16:01and then they said, "Oh, all right,
1:16:01 > 1:16:03"we'll overturn that. We'll extradite him."
1:16:03 > 1:16:06And then the States had a plane waiting on the runway for him
1:16:06 > 1:16:09and, from that point, there was no escape.
1:16:10 > 1:16:15'I was shocked to see how international politics played out -
1:16:15 > 1:16:17'greed, treason, betrayal,
1:16:17 > 1:16:20'but then my shock disappeared...
1:16:22 > 1:16:26'..and I was able to learn quickly how these things really work.
1:16:26 > 1:16:29'Not a lot has changed since ancient time.'
1:16:36 > 1:16:38PHONE RINGS
1:16:41 > 1:16:42Alo?
1:16:44 > 1:16:45Privyet!
1:17:19 > 1:17:20PHONE BEEPS
1:17:46 > 1:17:49- TV:- 'Viktor Bout faces life imprisonment
1:17:49 > 1:17:52'for trying to sell arms to what he believed were Colombian militants.'
1:18:12 > 1:18:16Is your daughter coming today? Is your daughter supposed to come?
1:18:16 > 1:18:19- Yes.- She's going to be here? - Yes. She's opposite side of here.
1:18:19 > 1:18:23Opposite side, I understand. Have you prepared her for this?
1:18:24 > 1:18:27- It's difficult for me.- Yes. You speak well. We've spoken.
1:18:27 > 1:18:30No, maybe I... Something I not understand.
1:18:30 > 1:18:33But how are you feeling about the whole thing?
1:18:33 > 1:18:35I mean, you've got to be feeling...
1:18:35 > 1:18:37Do you feel like your husband feels confident?
1:18:37 > 1:18:40- He feels strong.- Yeah.- That's all.
1:18:50 > 1:18:52Viktor Bout showed little emotion
1:18:52 > 1:18:55as the jury's unanimous guilty verdict was read out.
1:18:57 > 1:18:59Mr Bout, do you wish to say anything to the court
1:18:59 > 1:19:01before sentence is imposed?
1:19:01 > 1:19:03I'm innocent. I don't commit any crime.
1:19:03 > 1:19:05There is no crime to sit and talk.
1:19:05 > 1:19:08If you're going to apply the same standards to me,
1:19:08 > 1:19:11then you're going to, you know, jail all those arms dealers in America
1:19:11 > 1:19:14who are selling their arms and then they kill Americans.
1:19:14 > 1:19:16At the trial, during sentencing,
1:19:16 > 1:19:19the judge asked Viktor if he had anything to say,
1:19:19 > 1:19:21and for the first time he got up,
1:19:21 > 1:19:26somewhat composed in the beginning, but it quickly turned into...a rant.
1:19:26 > 1:19:29Even in Asia they start to say, "Oh, we saw the movie about you.
1:19:29 > 1:19:32"It was so exciting. Let us take pictures."
1:19:32 > 1:19:35I am for them like a trophy, like a hunted deer whom they killed.
1:19:35 > 1:19:38I was taken back by what he said.
1:19:38 > 1:19:41I mean, how can he not see what he's done in the past is wrong?
1:19:41 > 1:19:44I think the real Viktor came out at that moment.
1:19:44 > 1:19:48There was a lot of anger. He wasn't happy about it.
1:19:48 > 1:19:50He wasn't happy that he couldn't be Viktor Bout any more,
1:19:50 > 1:19:53and he let his true colours show.
1:19:53 > 1:19:57It's a double standard. It's a hypocrisy. I want to go home.
1:19:57 > 1:19:59I don't commit any crime. I'm innocent.
1:19:59 > 1:20:03Thank you, Mr Bout. Now, I have a lot to say.
1:20:03 > 1:20:06I begin with the nature and circumstances of the offence.
1:20:08 > 1:20:10Until the DEA went after Bout,
1:20:10 > 1:20:13he had not committed a crime chargeable in an American court
1:20:13 > 1:20:16in all his years as an arms dealer,
1:20:16 > 1:20:17and but for the approach
1:20:17 > 1:20:20made through this determined sting operation,
1:20:20 > 1:20:21there is no reason to believe
1:20:21 > 1:20:25that Bout would ever have committed the charged crimes.
1:20:25 > 1:20:29Based on review of the statutory factors, I intend to impose
1:20:29 > 1:20:32a required mandatory jail term of 25 years in custody.
1:20:40 > 1:20:43The notoriety, the myth of Viktor Bout
1:20:43 > 1:20:49propelled the jurors to look for a reason to convict him...
1:20:49 > 1:20:51and not for a reason to acquit him,
1:20:51 > 1:20:53and that's the unfortunate thing in this case.
1:20:53 > 1:20:57What do you think about this sentence, 25 years the minimum?
1:20:57 > 1:21:00Erin, I'm both shocked and disappointed.
1:21:00 > 1:21:02There are these intermediaries
1:21:02 > 1:21:05where it just seems like they're evading justice,
1:21:05 > 1:21:07and they are the ones we should be going after.
1:21:07 > 1:21:11And like again we saw today with the Viktor Bout trial,
1:21:11 > 1:21:13they just keep getting off lightly.
1:21:35 > 1:21:37REPORTERS SHOUT QUESTIONS
1:23:40 > 1:23:42HE WHISTLES A TUNE