Financial Transparency Coalition

Addressing anonymous shell companies andhidden company ownership will be essential to successfully stemming the flow of illegal weapons around the world and protecting the innocent civilians who suffer from their proliferation. On April 5, it will be one year since Viktor Bout, also known as the Merchant of Death, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, finally putting an end to his notorious career as a weapons trafficker. Bout was convictedon terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York, including conspiring to kill Americans and provide material support to terrorists.

Task Force member Global Witness's Rosie Sharp wrote the following op-ed in The Guardian on Monday. She expanded on the argument that she wrote about on this blog earlier this week, about the implications of the Guardian, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the BBC's Panorama programme investigations into the nominee shareholders that make anonymous shell companies possible.

WASHINGTON DC - Today, the Southern District of New York sentenced Viktor Bout, also known as the Merchant of Death, to 25 years in prison, finally putting an end to his notorious career as a weapons trafficker. In November of last year, a jury convicted Bout on terrorism charges, including conspiring to kill Americans and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

Yesterday Heather Hobson, the jury forewoman in the trial of Viktor Bout, looked the infamous illegal arms dealer in the eyes and announced the jury’s final finding of guilt. Bout, a former Soviet air force pilot, has been nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” for his role in funneling weapons to terrorists, including the Taliban and Al Qaeda; trans-national criminals; and armed combatants locked in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts. Though Bout has claimed on a Russian radio program that he has “never gotten into the arms trade,” according to European intelligence sources and documents from an African country uncovered...