Suspected international arms dealer awaits extradition verdict

From Kocha Olarn, CNN

Alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout talks to the media in a temporary cell ahead of his court hearing in Bangkok.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

A verdict on extradition for Bout is expected Tuesday
The United States wants to extradite the former Soviet military officer
Bout is accused of conspiring to kill U.S. nationals and officers or employees

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Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- A Thai court has rejected requests to drop money-laundering and wire-fraud charges against an accused international arms dealer.

Former Soviet military officer Viktor Bout has been indicted by U.S. federal authorities on a series of charges, including counts of illegally purchasing U.S. cargo planes to ferry weapons to warring parties and regimes in Africa and the Middle East.

Bout was arrested in Bangkok in March 2008 after a sting operation led by agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who were posing as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Bout has been in Thai custody since.

In August, a Thai appeals court ruled that Bout could be extradited to the United States for alleged terrorism offenses, but added that he should be released if the process was not completed within three months.

A Thai judge is expected to announce Tuesday a verdict on his extradition for a money-laundering charge.

Analysts have said Bout is expected to contest his return to the United States. He has repeatedly said he has broken no law and that the allegations against him are lies.

Bout is accused of supplying weapons to war zones around the world, from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan.

In February, a federal indictment charged Bout and an alleged co-conspirator with the illegal purchase of a Boeing 727 and a Boeing 737, money laundering and wire fraud.

The United States charged Bout in 2008 with agreeing to sell surface-to-air missiles, armor-piercing rocket launchers, "ultralight" airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles and other weapons to FARC. Justice Department officials have sought his extradition since then.

Federal authorities accused Bout of four terrorism offenses: conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees, conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile, and conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization -- a designation given to FARC by the U.S. State Department.

A former Soviet air force officer who speaks six languages, Bout allegedly began building his arms business as the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s. He acquired surplus Soviet planes and, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, started shipping arms and ammunition to conflict zones.