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Abu Dhabi court postpones Sudan illegal military arms trade case to August 12
13 defendants and 6 companies are being tried on charges of illegal trade in military equipment, money laundering, brokerage, and forgery of documents
- PUBLISHED: Thu 6 Aug 2026, 12:33 PM UPDATED: Thu 6 Aug 2026, 1:14 PM
Abu Dhabi's Federal Court of Appeal has postponed hearing in the Sudan military equipment case, involving 13 individuals and six companies, to August 12. The decision to adjourn was made after reviewing evidence and confessions linking the defendants to arms smuggling and money laundering.
During the session, the Federal Public Prosecution presented a plea in which it reviewed material and digital evidence, including audio and video recordings, conversations, documents, technical and financial reports, in addition to the confessions of a number of defendants, stressing that this evidence constitutes an integrated system that proves the crimes attributed to them.
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The prosecution also presented a video clip that clarified the stages of planning and implementation of the criminal scheme, and how the state’s lands, institutions and facilities were exploited to conclude illegal military equipment deals, and to transfer funds and disguise their proceeds through companies, bank accounts and fictitious documents, until the accused were apprehended while inspecting the plane’s cargo before it departed for Sudan.
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The prosecution asserted that exploiting the state's territory, institutions, and facilities to implement these deals was not only an attack on the provisions of the law, but also an attack on the state’s right to extend its sovereignty, preserve its security, and protect its international obligations.
It pointed out that the gravity of the crimes is compounded by the nature of the environment to which the military equipment was headed, and what this would entail in terms of dragging the UAE's name into a conflict that has no connection to it, exposing it to suspicions of financing or fueling it, and harming its political relations and interests.
The prosecution added that the investigations revealed an organized criminal mindset that aimed to turn the state into a platform for conducting military equipment deals, transferring funds and concealing their true nature, stressing that the money in this case was not a subsequent effect of the crime, but rather its tool and means of implementation.
The prosecution explained that the investigations revealed that members of the cell dealt with military leaders, political figures, and Sudanese businessmen, in addition to individuals and companies listed on US and Interpol sanctions lists, confirming that the equipment deals were made at the request of the Sudanese army's armament committee headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Yasser al-Atta, and with the coordination of Othman al-Zubair, the financial officer of the Port Sudan Authority.
The defence lawyers presented their arguments and submitted defence memoranda to the court, in which they indicated that some of the defendants in the case had been exploited by other defendants to open fictitious companies in their names, and that the accounts of those companies at banks operating in the country were managed by those who exploited them, with the aim of passing the funds used in the equipment purchase deal.
The defence attorney requested an adjournment for the first defendant until he could complete his arguments.
The UAE Attorney-General Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, had referred 19 defendants, including 13 individuals and 6 companies, to the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal on April 29, 2026, to be tried for the crimes attributed to them.
