British tycoon jailed for illegal arms deals supplying fighter jets and missiles to warzones

A British businessman and an adviser to a quango funded by the UK Government have both been given 16 year prison sentences over illegal arms deals involving fighter jets and weaponry destined for war zones across the globe.

David Greenhalgh, 68, and Greek national Christos Farmakis, 48, operated as middlemen in black market trades of former Soviet aircraft, surface-to-air and anti-tank missile systems, alongside thousands of assault rifles for war-torn nations including Sudan, South Sudan, and Libya.

The pair were convicted in June regarding unlawful transactions worth tens of millions of pounds conducted between 2009 and 2016.

Greenhalgh was found guilty of 10 counts of being knowingly concerned in acts calculated to promote unlicensed supply or delivery of controlled goods to an embargoed destination, while Farmakis was convicted of nine counts of the same offence.

They were each handed 16-year prison sentences on Wednesday.

Judge Sally-Ann Hales KC said: “Their offending was deliberate, sophisticated, financially motivated and persisted over many years.

“The evidence established a long-standing and mutually beneficial criminal enterprise.”

Farmakis was granted bail during legal proceedings and fled the UK, leading to him being tried in his absence and leaving Greenhalgh in the dock alone.

Efforts were made to have him brought back to the UK for sentencing from where he is believed to be living in Greece but he remained absent from the hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday.

HMRC, which investigated the pair, said the men had forged end-user certificates to disguise the destination of the weapons, falsely claiming the goods were destined for countries not subject to sanctions.

The judge said this was “routinely achieved” through “corrupt payments to public officials”.

“I am also satisfied that both of you knowingly participated in or facilitated such payments which you regarded as a necessary cost of doing business,” she added.

“The fact you were not charged with offences of bribery does not prevent me from regarding this as a significant aggravating factor.”

Prosecutor Edmund Burge KC earlier highlighted evidence of “large-scale bribery and corruption” of foreign officials as he detailed aggravating factors for Greenhalgh.

Mr Burge also told the court how Greenhalgh continued his involvement in illegal arms trading after being specifically warned by HMRC about the need for UK licences.

Judge Hales said Greenhalgh presented at trial “as someone who is something of a wheeler and dealer” who was able to use his experience for projects including exporting second-hand clothing to Africa, a sugar refinery, copper mine or a theme park.

“Those achievements make your conscious decision to engage in serious criminal conduct all the more disappointing,” she added.

Farmakis used his position as an adviser to Greater London Enterprise (GLE), a body with local and Government funding, as a respectable facade while conducting the illegal deals, their trial at Southwark Crown Court heard.

On aggravating factors for Farmakis, the prosecutor pointed to the defendant’s “abuse of his role” within GLE and the use of fake credentials from another Government agency – UK Trade & Investment – “to give himself, to his customers and his suppliers an air of authority and credibility”.

He also continued to be involved in illegal arms deals after being told by a colleague that he needed a UK licence, Mr Burge said.

Greenhalgh, a businessman from Croydon, used his Airservices group of companies, which were registered across multiple countries including the UK, Greece, North Macedonia and South Sudan, to strike the deals, which he referred to in emails as “sensitive projects”.

He attempted to use his international network of companies to get around British sanctions and trade embargoes.

James Hines KC, defending Greenhalgh, highlighted his client’s age and lack of previous convictions in mitigation.

Of the January 2012 meeting with HMRC in which Greenhalgh was told he must obtain UK licences because of his British nationality, Mr Hines said his client believed the same obligation did not apply to his Greek co-defendant Farmakis.

Edwige Hill, deputy director in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said: “Strict export licensing controls exist to protect the UK and to ensure that military equipment does not fall into the wrong hands.

“Greenhalgh knowingly and repeatedly circumvented those controls, forging documents and routing deals through overseas companies to evade detection.”