Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan Reportedly Recruited by British-Based Companies

Situated close to the shiny football stadium of a Premier League club in London is a plain, unremarkable apartment building. Beyond its unremarkable beige brickwork exists a dark secret: a small flat connected to murderous atrocities unfolding thousands of miles to the south.

According to British official documents, this apartment in the capital is connected to a transnational web of companies implicated in the large-scale hiring of fighters to combat in Sudan alongside paramilitaries accused of numerous war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

Hundreds of Ex- Colombian Military Recruited

A large number of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to serve with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a armed faction responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter, and the widespread killing of women and children.

These contractors were key participants in the paramilitaries’ capture of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in recent months, which triggered a wave of violence that analysts say has cost at least 60,000 lives.

While accounts of violence increase, links have been found between the fighters hired to overrun El Fasher and locations in the UK capital.

UK Address Connected to Censured Company

The apartment in Tottenham is listed to a company named Zeuz Global, set up by two people identified and sanctioned recently by the US treasury for recruiting contractors to combat for the RSF.

Both individuals – Colombian nationals in their fifties – are described in documents at the UK company registry as resident in Britain.

The firm is active. The following day the United States announced restrictions on those behind the recruitment network, Zeuz Global abruptly moved its registered address to the centre of central London. Its updated address corresponds to one five-star hotel in Covent Garden.

The establishments in question stated they had no link to Zeuz Global and were unaware why the company had listed their addresses.

"It is of major concern that the primary figures the US government claims are orchestrating this mercenary supply have been able to establish a UK company based from a apartment in north London," stated an expert, a researcher and ex-participant of a United Nations group on Sudan.

Concerns Voiced Over UK Company Checks

Experts say the saga highlights questions over how individuals publicly sanctioned by the US for "fueling the civil war in Sudan" were able to seemingly establish and operate a company in the British capital.

The British foreign secretary has censured the RSF for "organized murder, abuse and assault" 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, the registry did not comment on whether it had awareness of the firm’s activities or confirm the location of the sanctioned individuals.

Contacting Zeuz was unsuccessful; its online site, set up in May, was marked as "under construction" with no contact details.

Network Led by Retired Officer

Per the US treasury, the figure at the heart of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a citizen of two countries and former army officer located in the Gulf state.

The US accuses this individual of having a central role in hiring former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Colombian recruitment firm. His spouse was also penalized for owning and managing the firm.

Another dual national was similarly censured for overseeing a business accused of handling funds and salaries for the operation employing the mercenaries.

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

Firm Establishment and Escalating Violence

In spring of the current year, the penalized figures registered a company in the UK capital named ODP8 Ltd – later renamed Zeuz Global.

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

The penalized people are listed in official UK documents as holding "initial shareholdings" in the company, with one named as a key controller.

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

Impact on the War and Broader Concerns

The recruitment of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the course of the conflict, experts state. These fighters have allegedly instructed minors to be combatants, as well as acting as snipers, infantrymen, trainers, and operators for drones.

These drones were instrumental in the capture of El Fasher and during fighting in other regions.

"The war in Sudan is a hi-tech one, with guided weapons and long-range drones causing daily civilian deaths," added the expert. "These weapons require outside assistance to operate. We know that the recruitment network has been a major component of this external assistance."

He noted that the involvement of sanctioned individuals in a London firm highlighted broader concerns over the absence of strict vetting when companies are established.

"Owning a UK company like this is a license for criminals to do business with respectable entities. It's still harder to join a fitness centre in most cases than to establish a UK company," he said.

Government Response and Ongoing Allegations

A government source said that the new rollout of "compulsory ID checks" for corporate officers would provide greater assurance about who was establishing and controlling UK firms.

The role of the South Americans in Sudan first emerged last year, prompting an expression of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

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

The UAE, repeatedly alleged of supplying weapons to the RSF, has also been linked to the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries. A report alleged that Emirati business people supplying Colombians to the RSF were linked to a high-ranking Emirati figure. The UAE has repeatedly rejected these claims.

A British government spokesperson commented: "The UK is demanding an immediate end to violence, the protection of non-combatants, and the lifting of barriers to aid delivery."

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