Colombian Contractors in Sudan Allegedly Hired by British-Based Companies

Situated close to a gleaming soccer ground of Tottenham Hotspur in London is a plain, unremarkable block of flats. Beyond its ordinary facade lies a dark reality: a small flat linked to deadly atrocities taking place thousands of miles to the south.

According to British official documents, this one-bedroom flat in the capital is tied to a international network of companies involved in the mass recruitment of mercenaries to combat 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 fight with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a armed faction responsible for sexual violence, ethnic slaughter, and the systematic murder of civilians.

These contractors were directly involved in the paramilitaries’ capture of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which triggered a killing frenzy that experts believe has claimed at least 60,000 lives.

While accounts of atrocities increase, connections have been found between the fighters hired to overrun El Fasher and addresses in the UK capital.

London Flat Connected to Sanctioned Company

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

Both individuals – citizens of Colombia in their fifties – are listed in documents at the UK company registry as resident in Britain.

The company is operational. The following day the United States announced restrictions on those behind the recruitment network, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its registered address to the centre of London. Its updated address corresponds to a five-star hotel in Covent Garden.

Both hotels said they had no connection to Zeuz Global and were unaware why the firm had used their addresses.

"This is of major concern that the primary figures the US government claims are directing this mercenary supply have been able to establish a UK company operating from a apartment in the capital," stated Mike Lewis, a analyst and former member of a UN panel on Sudan.

Concerns Voiced Over British Firm Checks

Analysts say the situation raises concerns over how individuals publicly sanctioned by the US for "fueling 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 "organized murder, torture and sexual violence" following the group’s capture of El Fasher. The RSF has been accused by the US with genocide.

When asked about the company, Companies House did not comment on whether it had knowledge of the firm’s operations or verify the location of the sanctioned individuals.

Contacting Zeuz was unsuccessful; its website, set up in spring, was marked as "being built" with lacking information.

Network Led by Former Soldier

Per the American authorities, the man at the heart of the Colombian recruiting network for the RSF is a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US alleges this individual of playing a key part in hiring former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Colombian employment agency. His spouse was also sanctioned for owning and managing the agency.

Another dual national was also sanctioned for managing a business alleged of handling funds and salaries for the operation employing the mercenaries.

"During 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked with this individual conducted numerous bank transactions, totalling many millions of US dollars," the official announcement read.

Company Registration and Escalating Violence

In April of the current year, the sanctioned individuals set up a company in north London called ODP8 Ltd – later renamed Zeuz Global.

Shortly after, the RSF attacked the Zamzam camp for displaced people, slaughtering more than 1,500 civilians. After its seizure, the camp was transferred to the hired fighters, who began preparations for attacking El Fasher.

The sanctioned individuals are listed in Companies House records as owning "starting shares" in the company, with one named as a person of "significant control".

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

Impact on the War and Broader Concerns

The recruitment of the South Americans has had a profound impact on the trajectory of the conflict, experts state. These nationals have reportedly instructed minors to be combatants, as well as acting as snipers, foot soldiers, instructors, and operators for unmanned aircraft.

These aircraft proved 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 expert. "These weapons require external help to operate. We know that the recruitment network has been a major component of this external assistance."

He added that the participation of sanctioned individuals in a London firm underlined wider worries over the absence of strict vetting when companies are established.

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

Government Response and Continuing Claims

A government source stated that the recent introduction of "compulsory ID checks" for corporate officers would provide greater assurance about who was establishing and running UK firms.

The role of the South Americans 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 trained children in Sudan and seen combat in El Fasher.

The UAE, long accused of supplying weapons to the RSF, has also been connected to the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries. A report alleged that UAE nationals supplying fighters to the RSF were linked to a high-ranking Emirati figure. The UAE has consistently denied these allegations.

A UK official commented: "The UK is demanding an immediate end to atrocities, the protection of non-combatants, and the removal of barriers to aid delivery."

They noted that the UK had also sanctioned RSF commanders for their part in the crimes in El Fasher.