UAE.. Life imprisonment for 8 accused in the case of supplying weapons to the Sudanese army and money laundering

The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal in the Emirates, on Thursday, sentenced eight defendants to life imprisonment in the case of a network for illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition, military equipment, and money laundering, which, according to the court, included deals to supply weapons and ammunition to the Sudanese army, and the use of companies, bank accounts, and financial transfers to hide the sources and destinations of the funds. The court also ruled, according to what was reported by the Emirates News Agency, WAM, to punish a number of defendants with imprisonment for 3 years each for the crime of money laundering, and to fine those involved with a fine of one million dirhams each, with the confiscation of seized funds and sums, and the deportation of those convicted from the state after the implementation of the penalties.

The life imprisonment sentences included: Rashid Omar Abdul Qadir Ali, Salah Abdullah Muhammad Muhammad Saleh, known as Salah Gosh, Ahmed Abdullah, known as Abdullah Khalaf Allah, Ahmed Rabie Sayed Ahmed, Muhammad Fateh Al-Baik, Yasser Abdul Rahman Al-Atta, Othman Al-Zubair, and Maher Abdul Jalil. The court also ruled to punish Rashid Omar, Salah Gosh, Ahmed Abdullah, Maher Abdul Jalil Muhammad Abdul Jalil, Othman Babiker, Khaled Youssef Mukhtar, and Ahmed Khalaf Allah Abdullah, with 3 years imprisonment each for the crime of money laundering, with those included being fined one million dirhams ($272.29 thousand) each, confiscating one million and 545 thousand dirhams of the seized amounts, and deporting them. On behalf of the state following the implementation of the sanctions.

The court also fined 6 companies, namely “Rashid Omar Brokerage”, “Portex Trade Limited”, “Abu Lara Electronics Trading”, “Yellow Sand Trading”, “Warda Al Masra Trading”, and “Sodamena - Free Zone”, each of them one million dirhams for the crime of money laundering, and ruled to cancel their licenses and registrations and confiscate the funds seized and obtained from the crime, according to “WAM”. On the other hand, the court acquitted Mubarak Ali Al-Sheikh and Musab Awad Al-Karim Hassan of what was charged against them.

The merits of the ruling explained that the defendants traded in weapons, ammunition, and military equipment without a license from the competent authorities, and that they brought “Giranof” ammunition into the Emirates, in preparation for transporting it by air to Port Sudan, while showing the plane’s cargo as it was, as medical tools and supplies. The court added that the value of the military equipment was paid within the Emirates via bank transfers, in addition to cash amounts paid as part of the price of the deals, noting the use of forged companies, bank accounts, and documents to pass the money and hide its sources and destinations.

The facts stated that Rashid Omar Abdul Qadir Ali played a major role in concluding and implementing deals and coordinating between their parties. Through his company, he undertook the procedures for supplying weapons, ammunition and military equipment to the Sudanese army, and received the funds allocated to pay their value within the Emirates, including about 8 million dirhams in cash from Maher Abdul Jalil, as part of the price of one of the deals. According to the ruling, Yasser Abdel-Rahman Al-Atta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces and responsible for armaments, requested the purchase of weapons and military equipment, and took procedures to obtain permission for the plane to land at Port Sudan Airport, knowing that the deal was completed within the Emirates.

Othman Al-Zubair, the financial official in the Sudanese army who is responsible for following up on armament needs, auditing shipments, and paying suppliers’ dues, also paid the money due from the deals and delivered it to Maher Abdel-Jalil through the “hawala dar” system, knowing that there was no permit for those accused of trading in weapons within the Emirates. The court indicated that Maher Abdul Jalil worked as a mediator and financial arm for the deals, and was responsible for linking those in charge of them with Othman Al-Zubair, and managing the movement of funds through the bank accounts and companies associated with him, as well as Rashid Omar’s delivery of about 8 million dirhams in cash within the Emirates.

It was also proven to the court that Khaled Youssef Mukhtar, the former director of Salah Gosh’s office in the Sudanese intelligence service, received the commission allocated to Gosh from the deal, according to “WAM.” Ahmed Rabie Sayed Ahmed also mediated to facilitate Rashid Omar and his company obtaining approvals from the Sudanese army leadership to supply weapons and military equipment.

He participated in meetings with Salah Gosh, Abdullah Khalafallah, and Rashid Omar in Gosh’s house to follow up on the implementation of the first deal. He informed Rashid Omar of the Armament Committee’s decision regarding the second deal, and the court concluded that his intervention was aimed at achieving a financial benefit. The ruling stated that Muhammad Fateh Al-Beik, former advisor to the Sudanese Minister of Finance, linked Rashid Omar to both Othman Al-Zubair and Ahmed Rabie, and helped in approving Rashid Omar’s company as a supplier to the Sudanese army despite not working in the field of arms supply, and received 146 thousand dirhams in exchange for his role in the first deal.

Regarding Abdullah Khalaf Allah, the court said that he participated in meetings with Salah Gosh, Rashid Omar, and Ahmed Rabie to follow up on the implementation of the first deal, and that the “Portex Trade Limited” company associated with him was used in financial transactions related to the deal. It was also proven that his brother, Ahmed Khalfallah, received one million and 850 thousand dirhams of the value of the first deal, knowing that there was no permit or license for him, his brother, or the company to trade in military equipment within the Emirates.

The court concluded that it was proven that the convicts participated in a scheme for illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition, and military equipment, in which forged documents, companies, and bank accounts within the Emirates were used to pass money from arms deals and hide their sources and destinations, in addition to laundering the money obtained from these activities. The court indicated that the arms deals were carried out in light of the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan and for the benefit of one of its parties, considering that using the UAE’s lands and its financial system in these activities would harm its relations with the international community and expose its interests to danger, in light of international restrictions related to the supply of weapons.

The court considered that acts related to arms deals, counterfeiting, and the use of documents fall within “one criminal enterprise,” with the crime of money laundering being an independent crime. On April 30, 2025, the UAE Attorney General, Counselor Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, announced the thwarting of an attempt to illegally pass weapons and military equipment to the Port Sudan Authority, and the arrest of members of a cell involved in illicit trade in military equipment and money laundering.

This came after investigations revealed a plan to pass arms and ammunition shipments through the UAE, using companies and bank accounts to hide the true nature of the financial transactions associated with them. According to investigations, the case was linked to two deals for the supply of military equipment, one of which included Kalashnikov rifles, machine guns, and bombs with a declared value of $13 million, while the other related to the supply of additional ammunition to Port Sudan, using more than $2 million from the proceeds of the first deal.

Investigations also revealed a plan to pass an additional 5 million rounds through 6 other deals, before the failure of the first shipment prevented these operations from being carried out.