Colombian Contractors in the Sudanese Conflict Allegedly Hired by British-Based Companies

Situated close to a shiny football stadium of a Premier League club in London lies a plain, nondescript block of flats. Behind its unremarkable beige brickwork lies a grim secret: a cramped flat linked to deadly crimes taking place a vast distance to the south.

According to British official documents, this one-bedroom flat in the capital is connected to a international network of firms implicated in the large-scale recruitment of mercenaries to fight in Sudan alongside militias charged of numerous war crimes and genocide.

Hundreds of Former Colombian Military Recruited

A large number of former Colombian military personnel have been enlisted to fight with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a armed faction responsible for mass rapes, targeted killings, and the systematic murder of women and children.

Colombian mercenaries were key participants in the paramilitaries’ seizure of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in recent months, which sparked a killing frenzy that analysts say has claimed over 60,000 lives.

As accounts of violence mount, links have been found between the fighters hired to capture El Fasher and locations in the city of London.

UK Address Connected to Sanctioned Company

The flat in Tottenham is listed to a corporation called Zeuz Global, set up by two individuals named and sanctioned last week by the US treasury for hiring contractors to combat for the RSF.

Both figures – Colombian nationals in their fifties – are listed in records at the UK company registry as living in the United Kingdom.

The company is operational. The following day the United States announced sanctions on those running the recruitment network, Zeuz Global abruptly moved its official location to the centre of London. Its new postcode corresponds to one five-star hotel in a central district.

Both hotels stated they had no link to Zeuz Global and had no idea why the firm had used their postcodes.

"It is of serious worry that the primary figures the American authorities states are orchestrating this fighter recruitment have been able to establish a UK company based from a apartment in the capital," said Mike Lewis, a researcher and ex-participant of a UN panel on Sudan.

Questions Raised Over British Firm Oversight

Experts argue the situation highlights questions over how individuals openly censured by the US for "contributing to the conflict in Sudan" were able to seemingly set up and run a company in the UK capital.

The UK's top diplomat has censured the RSF for "systematic killings, torture and sexual violence" following the faction's seizure of El Fasher. The RSF has been accused by the US with genocide.

When questioned about Zeuz Global, the registry did not comment on whether it had knowledge of the company's activities or verify the location of the penalized people.

Contacting Zeuz was unsuccessful; its website, set up in May, was marked as "being built" with no contact details.

Network Headed by Former Soldier

Per the American authorities, the figure at the heart of the Colombian recruiting network for the RSF is a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US alleges this individual of having a key part in hiring former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Bogotá-based employment agency. His wife was also penalized for owning and managing the agency.

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

"During 2024 and 2025, companies in America linked with this individual engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling many millions of US dollars," the US treasury statement read.

Firm Establishment and Escalating Violence

In spring of this 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 camp for displaced people, killing over 1,500 innocent people. After its capture, the site was transferred to the hired fighters, who began planning for attacking El Fasher.

The penalized people are listed in Companies House records as owning "starting shares" in the firm, with one named as a person of "significant control".

The two describe the UK as their "place of residency".

Impact on the Conflict and Broader Concerns

The hiring of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the trajectory of the conflict, experts state. These fighters have reportedly trained children to be combatants, as well as serving as marksmen, infantrymen, trainers, and pilots for drones.

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

"The war in Sudan is a hi-tech one, with precision munitions and remote aircraft causing regular civilian deaths," said the expert. "These systems require external help to operate. We know that the recruitment network has been a major component of this external assistance."

He added that the involvement of sanctioned individuals in a UK company underlined broader concerns over the absence of strict vetting when companies are set up.

"Having a UK company like this is a passport for bad actors to do deals with respectable entities. It's still harder to join a fitness centre in most cases than to establish a UK company," he said.

Official Reaction and Continuing Claims

A government source said that the recent introduction of "mandatory identity verification" for corporate officers would provide more confidence about who was establishing and running UK firms.

The role of the South Americans in Sudan first emerged last year, leading to an apology from the South American nation's government.

One of the fighters recently admitted that he had trained children in Sudan and fought in El Fasher.

The UAE, repeatedly alleged of arming the RSF, has also been connected to the hiring of Colombian mercenaries. A report alleged that Emirati business people supplying fighters to the RSF were connected to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has repeatedly rejected these allegations.

A British government spokesperson said: "The UK is demanding an halt to atrocities, the protection of civilians, and the removal of barriers to aid delivery."

They noted that the UK had also imposed restrictions on RSF commanders for their role in the crimes in El Fasher.