Report: Putin’s ‘Merchant of Death’ back in business after released by Biden-Harris administration

The infamous Russian arms dealer who was freed in a prisoner swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner is now back in business, according to a new report.

Viktor Bout, known as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “Merchant of Death,” has been out of jail for nearly two years now after the deal the Biden-Harris administration brokered with Russia. He’s jumped back into business — this time trying to sell small arms to Yemen’s Houthi militants that have the backing of Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

People familiar with the matter said the meeting between Bout and two Houthi representatives was disguised as a trip to buy pesticides and vehicles and a visit to a Lada factory.

The Houthis have been attacking international shipping containers in the Red Sea since the start of the Israel-Hamas war a year ago.

Bout, 57, sold Soviet-made weapons for decades in areas such as Africa, South America and the Middle East. He was arrested in 2008 by U.S. law enforcement in a sting operation.

After his release in the prisoner exchange, he went on to win a seat in a local assembly in 2023 as a member of the pro-Kremlin party. But, a European security official and others told the Journal that Houthi envoys encountered him when they went to Moscow in August to purchase $10 million worth of automatic weapons.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia was “inclined to categorize [the story] as fake news or an information attack on our elected representatives,” according to Russian news agency TASS.

Bout told the RBC daily that it was also fake and said the article was published to coincide with Mr. Putin’s birthday. He also praised the Houthis for their military achievements.

The Biden administration has been worried about Russia providing the Houthis weapons as a way to retaliate against the U.S. for sending aid to Ukraine. Russian weapons could threaten the U.S.’s military efforts to protect international shipping from Houthi attacks. However, there is no evidence the arms deal went through.

Steve Zissou, the New York attorney who represented Bout in the U.S., declined to tell the Journal if Bout had met with the Houthis. A Houthi spokesperson also declined to comment.

Bout was swapped for Ms. Griner in December 2022. The White House called it a difficult decision.

“Before we make any determination about whether to send somebody back as part of a deal to get an American home, we make a determination about the national security implications of that,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at the time. “We did that assessment in this case.”

“We believe we can manage those challenges, but we will remain constantly vigilant against any threat that Viktor Bout may pose to Americans, to the United States going forward,” he said.