Mauritius Rejects Project of Airline Linked to Russian Arms Dealer

Money is not everything. Maurice has vetoed a proposed one airline behind which hid two former lieutenants of a notorious Russian arms dealer. He, Viktor Bout, the man who inspired the movie " Lord of War "and whose role was portrayed by Nicolas Cage, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the United States last April.

The firm would have rented a charter aircraft registered in the U.S. and have operated from Plaisance airport without incident. This is what reveals the U.S. daily New York Times in its edition of Wednesday, July 18, 2012, by publishing excerpts from a press conference in New York yesterday, the organization Conflict Awareness Project.

The New York Times quotes a letter from the ambassador of Mauritius to the UN, Meetarbhan Milan, at the Conflict Awareness Project which has investigated the activities of the network of Victor Bout. In his letter, Milan Meetarbhan indicates that the Mauritian authorities did not want to risk that Island Air Systems uses Mauritius as a front for engaging in illicit transactions with conflict zones.

However, he adds, the survey conducted at the local level has not demonstrated that this was the plan of two former right arm of Viktor Bout, Sergei and Andrei Denisenko Kosolapov. The Civil Aviation Department, falling under the Office of the Prime Minister of Mauritius, has refused to grant an "Air Operation Certificate" at the company Island Air Systems.

At the Government House, it confirms that \ project, a joint venture with Mauritian, has been " blocked "a week ago. " We had doubts about the credibility of Russian developers , "highlights our interlocutor.

In fact, Maurice seems to have made the right decision. If Port-Louis was awarded a certificate of operation to Island Air Systems, it could have taken advantage of loopholes in international law to circumvent the embargo by the United Nations on arms sales and U.S. sanctions, writing Conflict Awareness Project in its report, citing countries such as Angola, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

If this were the project developers, it would involve firms and individuals in South Africa, Australia, the USA and Finland. However, Andrei Kosolapov told the New York Times that his plan was only intended to offer charter flights and not to engage in arms trafficking. " Everything was done according to the rules , "he said.

The Conflict Awareness Project report also alleges that Moscow was aware of this project, in the words of Andrei Kosolapov. The New York Times also notes that the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs has campaigned against the decision of a federal court in Manhattan to condemn Bout to 25 years in prison, arguing that the judgment is " biased "and" a political ".

In another article published by British newspaper The Guardian on Tuesday 17 July, her correspondent based in New York explains that the Conflict Awareness Project is led by a former UN investigator on arms trafficking, Kathi Lynn Austin.

Conflict Awareness Project said in its investigation that the traffickers have developed new techniques for carrying weapons. Instead of old Russian cargo planes, they fall back on commercial flights to western aircraft.