A court in the United Arab Emirates has sentenced senior Sudanese military commander Yasser al-Atta, former intelligence chief Salah Gosh and six others to life imprisonment over an illegal arms trafficking and money laundering operation linked to weapons supplies for Sudan’s military.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal issued the verdicts on Thursday after finding that the defendants had participated in a network that used commercial companies, bank accounts and cash transactions to arrange unauthorised arms shipments to Sudan’s military, according to the UAE’s official Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Those sentenced to life imprisonment included al-Atta, an assistant to Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Gosh, former director of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service, and Osman al-Zubair, a senior military financial official.
The other defendants were identified as Rashid Omar Abdel Qader Ali, Ahmed Abdullah, also known as Abdullah Khalafallah, Ahmed Rabie Sayed Ahmed, Mohamed Fath al-Beik and Maher Abdel Jalil.
The court ordered the confiscation of ammunition, mobile phones and communications equipment linked to the operation, along with the deportation of convicted individuals after completing their sentences.
It was not immediately clear whether all those convicted were in UAE custody or whether any of the verdicts were issued in absentia.
Weapons shipments disguised as medical supplies
According to the court’s findings, the network arranged two deals involving weapons, ammunition and military equipment intended for Sudan’s military.
Investigators found that Goryunov-type ammunition had been brought into the UAE for onward transportation by aircraft to Port Sudan, with the cargo falsely declared as medical equipment and supplies.
Payments were reportedly processed through banking channels and cash transactions inside the UAE.
The court identified Rashid Omar Abdel Qader Ali as a central figure in organising the transactions, coordinating suppliers and managing payments through his company.
He received approximately eight million UAE dirhams ($2.18 million) in cash from Maher Abdel Jalil as partial payment for one of the arms deals, the court found.
Al-Atta’s role in the operation
The court said al-Atta, who oversees armament matters within Sudan’s military leadership, had requested the purchase of weapons and military equipment.
He also allegedly arranged the procedures necessary to obtain landing permission for an aircraft at Port Sudan Airport, knowing that the transaction had been conducted on UAE territory.
Osman al-Zubair, identified as a financial official responsible for military procurement, was found to have facilitated payments to suppliers through an informal money transfer system despite knowing that the transactions lacked the necessary UAE authorisations.
The judgment also detailed the involvement of Gosh and several intermediaries in meetings and financial arrangements linked to the weapons deals.
According to the court, Khalid Yousuf Mukhtar, a former director of Gosh’s office at Sudan’s intelligence service, received a commission allocated to the former intelligence chief.
Additional prison terms and financial penalties
The court also imposed three-year prison sentences on seven defendants for money laundering offences, including Gosh and several individuals who received life sentences in the arms trafficking case.
Those subject to financial penalties were ordered to pay one million dirhams each.
Authorities were instructed to confiscate an additional 1.545 million dirhams in seized funds.
Six companies, including Rashed Omar Brokerage Company, Portex Trade Limited, Apollara Electronics Trading Company, Yellow Sand Trading Company, Wardat Al Masarra Trading Company and Sudamina Free Zone, were each fined one million dirhams.
The court ordered the cancellation of their commercial licences and registrations, along with the confiscation of assets linked to the money laundering operation.
Two other defendants, Mubarak Ali al-Sheikh and Musab Awad al-Karim Hassan, were acquitted.
Court cites threat to UAE interests
The court concluded that the defendants had participated in an organised operation involving unauthorised arms trading, forged documents and financial transactions designed to conceal the origin and destination of funds.
It said the transactions were conducted during Sudan’s ongoing civil war and were intended to supply one of the parties to the conflict.
The use of UAE territory and financial institutions to facilitate the deals risked damaging the country’s international relations and exposing it to consequences associated with restrictions on arms transfers, the court found.
The convictions follow an investigation ordered by UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi into suspected illegal weapons procurement and associated financial activities.
There was no immediate reported response from Sudan’s military leadership to the verdicts.
