Colombian Contractors in Sudan Reportedly Recruited by British-Based Companies

Tucked away near a shiny football stadium of Tottenham Hotspur in the British capital is a plain, unremarkable apartment building. Behind its ordinary beige brickwork exists a dark secret: a cramped flat linked to murderous crimes taking place a vast distance to the south.

Per UK government records, this one-bedroom flat in the capital is tied to a international network of firms implicated in the mass recruitment of mercenaries to fight in Sudan alongside paramilitaries charged of numerous war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

Hundreds of Former Colombian Military Enlisted

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to serve with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for sexual violence, targeted killings, and the systematic murder of women and children.

Colombian mercenaries were directly involved in the paramilitaries’ seizure of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in recent months, which triggered a wave of violence that experts believe has claimed over 60,000 lives.

As accounts of violence increase, connections have been found between the fighters contracted to overrun El Fasher and locations in the city of London.

UK Address Linked to Sanctioned Company

The apartment in north London is listed to a company named Zeuz Global, established by two people named and sanctioned last week by the American authorities for recruiting contractors to fight for the RSF.

Both figures – Colombian nationals in their fifties – are listed in documents at Companies House as living in Britain.

The firm is active. The day after the US treasury announced restrictions on those behind the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its official location to the very heart of central London. Its updated address corresponds to a five-star hotel in a central district.

Both hotels said they had no connection to Zeuz Global and were unaware why the company had listed their postcodes.

"This is of major concern that the key individuals the American authorities states are orchestrating this fighter recruitment have been able to establish a UK company based from a flat in north London," said an expert, a analyst and former member of a United Nations group on Sudan.

Questions Raised Over British Firm Oversight

Analysts argue the situation raises questions over how individuals publicly sanctioned by the US for "fueling the civil war in Sudan" were able to apparently establish and operate a firm in the British capital.

The UK's top diplomat has censured 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 genocide.

When asked about the company, Companies House did not respond on whether it had awareness of the company's operations or verify the location of the sanctioned individuals.

Contacting Zeuz was fruitless; its online site, created in spring, was marked as "being built" with no contact details.

Network Led by Retired Officer

Per the American authorities, the figure at the heart of the Colombian recruiting network for the RSF is a citizen of two countries and retired Colombian military officer based in the Gulf state.

The US accuses this individual of playing a key part in hiring former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Bogotá-based recruitment firm. His spouse was also penalized for running the firm.

Another dual national was similarly censured for overseeing a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the network employing the Colombian fighters.

"During 2024 and 2025, companies in America associated with this individual engaged in many wire transfers, amounting to many millions of US dollars," the official announcement read.

Firm Establishment and Escalating Violence

In April of the current year, the sanctioned individuals registered a firm in north London named ODP8 Ltd – later renamed Zeuz Global.

Three days later, the RSF attacked the Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering over 1,500 innocent people. After its capture, the site was transferred to Colombian mercenaries, who began planning for attacking El Fasher.

The penalized people are named in official UK documents as owning "initial shareholdings" in the company, with one identified as a person of "significant control".

The two describe the UK as their "country of residence".

Effect on the Conflict and Wider Issues

The recruitment of the South Americans has had a profound impact on the course of the conflict, experts state. These nationals have allegedly trained children to be soldiers, as well as serving as snipers, infantrymen, instructors, and pilots for drones.

These drones were instrumental in the fall of El Fasher and during combat in surrounding areas.

"The war in Sudan is a hi-tech one, with precision munitions and long-range drones causing daily fatalities," said the analyst. "These systems 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 involvement of sanctioned individuals in a UK company underlined wider worries over the absence of strict vetting when firms are set up.

"Owning a UK company like this is a passport for bad actors to do deals with legitimate counterparts. It's still more difficult to join a gym in most cases than to establish a UK company," he said.

Official Reaction and Ongoing Allegations

A government source said that the new rollout of "mandatory identity verification" for company directors would provide greater assurance about who was establishing and controlling UK firms.

The Colombians’ involvement in Sudan first came to light last year, prompting an apology from the South American nation's government.

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

The UAE, long accused of arming the RSF, has also been linked to the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries. A investigation alleged that Emirati business people supplying fighters to the RSF were linked to a high-ranking Emirati figure. The UAE has consistently denied these claims.

A British government spokesperson commented: "The UK is demanding an halt to violence, the protection of civilians, and the removal of obstacles to aid delivery."

They added that the UK had recently imposed restrictions on RSF commanders for their part in the atrocities in El Fasher.