Two men have been found guilty today, 11 June 2026, of running a secretive international arms brokering operation including attempting to flood conflict zones with weapons ranging from assault rifles to surface-to-air missile systems.

David Greenhalgh, 68, and Christos Farmakis, 48, were jointly found guilty of eight counts of illegal arms trafficking between them under the Export Control Order 2008, following a trial that began on 7 April 2026 at Southwark Crown Court. Greenhalgh was found guilty of a further two offences and Farmakis, a Greek national was tried in his absence was convicted of a further one offence for similar crimes.

Anja Hohmeyer, Specialist Prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Greenhalgh and Farmakis treated the international arms trade as their personal business opportunity – systematically sourcing weapons from former Soviet states and attempting to channel them into some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones, including Libya and South Sudan.

"They knew exactly what they were doing. Their own emails showed them discussing how to evade UK licencing controls, falsify end user certificates and disguise the true nature of their deals. One document found on Farmakis's device was nothing less than a blueprint for wholesale evasion of the UK's arms controls.

"This conviction sends a clear message: UK arms trafficking and brokering laws apply to anyone subject to this jurisdiction, wherever in the world they try to conduct their business. The CPS will not hesitate to prosecute those who seek to profit from conflict."

Greenhalgh was the owner and controlling director of the 'Airservices' group of companies, which he operated across multiple jurisdictions including the UK, Greece, Macedonia, Hong Kong, and South Sudan. He deliberately used his overseas companies for what he described in his own correspondence as his "sensitive projects", believing he could place himself beyond the reach of UK law. He could not.

Farmakis was a London-based business adviser employed by Greater London Enterprise, a company funded by the London boroughs. Behind that respectable façade, he ran a Cyprus-registered company called Black Betty Consulting through which he conducted negotiations for the supply of controlled weapons and military goods that gave rise to a number of counts on the indictment.

Together, between July 2009 and December 2016, the pair attempted to broker the supply of a range of controlled military goods sourced from former Soviet states and Eastern European countries.

Those goods included surface-to-air missile systems capable of bringing down aircraft, Mi-24 combat helicopter gunships and associated weapons systems, battle tanks, anti-tank missile launchers and rocket-propelled grenades, fighter jets, and tens of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles along with millions of rounds of ammunition.

The intended destinations included Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Iraq, and Iran – all countries embargoed under UK law at the time.

The Crown’s case uncovered emails where the defendants openly discussed the need to forge end user certificates, use false shipping documents and route deliveries through third countries to conceal where weapons were ultimately headed.

In another email found on his devices Farmakis wrote: "Any activity without an EUC is illegal and subject to criminal investigations" – making clear he understood precisely what he was doing.

Greenhalgh, writing about a proposed deal to supply 100,000 AK-47 rifles to South Sudan, noted that "Iraq/Syria is hoovering up every piece of small arms in market" and warned a contact that "Europe WILL NOT accept your paperwork. You will need support from other Brothers."

Edwige Hill, Deputy Director in HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service, said: “Greenhalgh and Farmakis showed a blatant disregard for international sanctions, seeking to profit from the illegal supply of weapons.

“These convictions are a clear warning to others that you will face justice for breaching the UK’s strict controls and brokering illegal supplies to sanctioned and embargoed destinations.

“Effective controls and enforcement of the licencing regime contribute to the UK’s national security. It’s a priority for the UK Government and HMRC will pursue those who try to circumvent it.”

The Export Control Joint Unit confirmed that no licence enquiries or applications were ever made by or on behalf of either defendant or any of the Airservices companies in connection with any of the deals alleged in the indictment.

The CPS is committed to working with investigators and Government bodies to uphold the UK's arms trafficking and brokering controls and to prosecute those who seek to circumvent them.

They face sentencing on 22 July 2026.