Viktor Bout, the Russian prisoner who was exchanged for US basketball star Brittney Griner, is a notorious arms dealer also known as the “Dealer of Death” who inspired the character of Nicolas Cage in the film Lord of War.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 after a difficult extradition from Thailand. A former Soviet air force officer and perhaps also a former KGB agent (but he denies it), the chameleonic and polyglot Bout had built a fleet of aircraft after the collapse of the USSR that supplied arms to half the world.
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