South American Mercenaries in Sudan Reportedly Recruited by British-Based Companies

Situated near the shiny football stadium of a Premier League club in London is a squat, unremarkable apartment building. Beyond its ordinary facade lies a grim reality: a small second-floor apartment linked to deadly atrocities unfolding thousands of miles to the south.

According to UK government records, this one-bedroom flat in the capital is connected to a transnational web of firms implicated in the large-scale recruitment of fighters to fight in the African nation alongside militias charged of myriad atrocities and ethnic cleansing.

Scores of Ex- Colombian Military Recruited

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to serve with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a armed faction responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter, and the widespread murder of civilians.

Colombian mercenaries were key participants in the RSF's capture of the western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which sparked a wave of violence that analysts say has claimed over 60,000 lives.

While accounts of atrocities increase, links have been found between the mercenaries hired to capture El Fasher and addresses in the city of London.

London Flat Connected to Sanctioned Company

The apartment in Tottenham is registered to a company named Zeuz Global, set up by two individuals identified and sanctioned last week by the American authorities for recruiting Colombian mercenaries to combat for the RSF.

Both individuals – citizens of Colombia in their fifties – are described in records at Companies House as living in Britain.

The firm remains operational. The following day the United States announced sanctions on those running the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its official location to the centre of central London. Its updated address corresponds to one five-star hotel in Covent Garden.

The establishments in question said they had no link to Zeuz Global and were unaware why the company had used their postcodes.

"It is of serious worry that the primary figures the US government claims are orchestrating this mercenary supply have been able to establish a UK company operating from a flat in the capital," stated Mike Lewis, a researcher and former member of a United Nations group on Sudan.

Concerns Voiced Over UK Company Checks

Analysts argue the situation raises questions over how people publicly sanctioned by the US for "contributing to the civil war in Sudan" were able to seemingly set up and run a firm in the British capital.

The British foreign secretary has condemned the RSF for "organized murder, abuse and sexual violence" following the group’s seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been charged by the US with acts of genocide.

When asked about the company, Companies House did not comment on whether it had knowledge of the company's operations or confirm the residency status of the sanctioned individuals.

Contacting Zeuz proved fruitless; its website, set up in May, was labelled as "under construction" with lacking information.

Operation Headed by Former Soldier

Per the American authorities, the figure at the centre of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a citizen of two countries and former army officer located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US accuses this individual of having a key part in hiring ex-military personnel to be deployed to Sudan using a Colombian recruitment firm. His spouse was also sanctioned for owning and managing the firm.

Another individual with two citizenships was also sanctioned for overseeing a business accused of processing money and salaries for the operation employing the Colombian fighters.

"In 2024 and 2025, companies in America linked with this individual conducted numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions of US dollars," the official announcement read.

Company Registration and Escalating Violence

In spring of the current year, the sanctioned individuals registered a firm in the UK capital called ODP8 Ltd – later renamed Zeuz Global.

Shortly after, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam camp for displaced people, killing over 1,500 innocent people. After its seizure, the camp was handed over to Colombian mercenaries, who began planning for attacking El Fasher.

The sanctioned individuals are listed in official UK documents as owning "starting shares" in the firm, with one named as a person of "significant control".

The two list Britain as their "country of residence".

Impact on the Conflict and Broader Concerns

The recruitment of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the trajectory of the war, analysts say. These nationals have reportedly instructed minors to be combatants, as well as acting as marksmen, foot soldiers, instructors, and operators for drones.

These aircraft were key in the fall of El Fasher and during fighting in other regions.

"The war in Sudan is a technologically advanced one, with precision munitions and long-range drones causing regular civilian deaths," added the expert. "These weapons require external help to operate. We know that the Colombian mercenary operation has been a major component of this external assistance."

He added that the participation of sanctioned individuals in a London firm highlighted broader concerns over the lack of rigorous checks when firms are set up.

"Having a UK company like this is a passport for bad actors to do business with legitimate counterparts. It's still harder to join a fitness centre in most cases than to set up a UK company," he said.

Government Response and Ongoing Allegations

A government source stated that the new rollout of "compulsory ID checks" for company directors would provide more confidence about who was establishing and controlling UK firms.

The Colombians’ involvement in Sudan first came to light last year, prompting an expression of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

One of the fighters recently admitted that he had instructed minors in Sudan and seen combat in El Fasher.

The United Arab Emirates, repeatedly alleged of arming the RSF, has also been connected to the hiring of Colombian mercenaries. A report alleged that UAE nationals supplying Colombians to the RSF were connected to a high-ranking Emirati figure. The UAE has consistently denied these claims.

A UK official said: "The UK is demanding an immediate end to atrocities, the protection of civilians, and the removal of obstacles to aid delivery."

They added that the UK had also sanctioned RSF commanders for their role in the atrocities in El Fasher.