Viktor Bout
Russian arms dealer caught in a US sting over missiles for Colombia's FARC.
The US State Department answered an alleged Iranian bid for hundreds of shoulder-fired missiles on 5 November 2026 with sanctions on three intermediaries. Viktor Bout was stopped a different way: a 2008 sting over MANPADs ended in his arrest in Bangkok.
Last refreshed: 8 November 2026
Timeline for Viktor Bout
Mentioned in: State Department hits Iran MANPADS bid
Iran Conflict 2026Background
Viktor Bout's capture is the main precedent for Washington removing a weapons broker by arrest rather than by sanctions. US agents posing as buyers for Colombia's FARC rebels met him in Bangkok, and Thai police detained him there on 6 March 2008 after he discussed supplying MANPADs. Washington took the other route on 5 November 2026, meeting an alleged Iranian missile procurement scheme with sanctions on Tolibov, Domullodzhanov and Vanguard Tactical Supply.
Thailand extradited him to the United States in November 2010. On 2 November 2011 a Manhattan jury convicted him of conspiring to kill Americans and of conspiring to supply a designated terrorist organisation, and a judge sentenced him to 25 years in April 2012.
Moscow secured his release on 8 December 2022 in a prisoner exchange for Brittney Griner, the American basketball player held in Russia on a drugs charge. Bout joined the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia that month and won a seat in the Ulyanovsk regional assembly in 2023.
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 8 November 2026. Editorial standards.