Colombian Contractors in Sudan Allegedly Hired by British-Based Firms

Tucked away close to a gleaming football stadium of a Premier League club in London lies a plain, unremarkable apartment building. Beyond its unremarkable facade lies a dark secret: a cramped flat connected to murderous atrocities unfolding a vast distance to the south.

Per British official documents, this apartment in north London is tied to a transnational network of companies involved in the mass hiring of fighters to combat in the African nation alongside paramilitaries accused of numerous atrocities and ethnic cleansing.

Hundreds of Former South American Soldiers Enlisted

A large number of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to fight with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group blamed for sexual violence, ethnic slaughter, and the systematic killing of civilians.

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

While accounts of atrocities increase, connections have been identified between the fighters hired to overrun El Fasher and locations in the city of London.

London Flat Connected to Sanctioned Company

The flat in north London is registered to a corporation called Zeuz Global, set up by two people named and sanctioned recently by the US treasury for recruiting contractors to combat for the RSF.

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

The company remains active. The day after the US treasury imposed restrictions on those behind the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global abruptly moved its registered address to the very heart of London. Its updated address matches one 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.

"It is of major concern that the primary figures the US government claims are orchestrating this mercenary supply have been able to set up a UK company based from a apartment in north London," stated Mike Lewis, a researcher and former member of a United Nations group on Sudan.

Questions Raised Over British Firm Oversight

Analysts argue the saga raises questions over how people openly censured by the US for "contributing to the civil war in Sudan" were able to seemingly set up and run a firm in the UK capital.

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

When asked about Zeuz Global, the registry did not respond on whether it had awareness of the company's activities or confirm the location of the sanctioned individuals.

Reaching out to Zeuz proved fruitless; its website, created in spring, was marked as "being built" with lacking information.

Operation Headed by Retired Officer

Per the American authorities, the figure at the heart of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based 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 Bogotá-based recruitment firm. His spouse was also sanctioned for owning and managing the firm.

Another individual with two citizenships was also sanctioned for managing a business alleged of processing money and payroll for the network employing the mercenaries.

"In 2024 and 2025, companies in America associated with this individual engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions of US dollars," the US treasury statement said.

Firm Establishment and Escalating Violence

In April of the current year, the sanctioned individuals set up a company in the UK capital called ODP8 Ltd – later re-branded Zeuz Global.

Three days later, the RSF attacked the Zamzam camp for displaced people, slaughtering over 1,500 civilians. After its seizure, the camp was transferred to the hired fighters, who began preparations for assaulting El Fasher.

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

Both describe the UK as their "place of residency".

Impact on the War and Broader Concerns

The recruitment of the Colombians has had a profound impact on the course of the conflict, analysts say. These nationals have reportedly trained children to be soldiers, as well as serving as marksmen, infantrymen, trainers, and operators for unmanned aircraft.

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," added the analyst. "These systems require outside assistance to operate. We know that the Colombian mercenary operation has been a significant part of this external assistance."

He added that the involvement of sanctioned individuals in a London firm highlighted wider worries over the lack of rigorous checks when firms are set up.

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

Official Reaction and Ongoing Allegations

A UK official stated that the recent introduction of "mandatory identity verification" for company directors would provide greater assurance about who was setting up and controlling UK companies.

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

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

The UAE, repeatedly alleged of supplying weapons to the RSF, has also been connected to the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries. A report alleged that Emirati business people providing fighters to the RSF were linked to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has repeatedly rejected these claims.

A British government spokesperson commented: "The UK is calling for an immediate end to atrocities, the safety of civilians, and the lifting of obstacles to aid delivery."

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