Colombian Contractors in the Sudanese Conflict Allegedly Hired by UK-Registered Companies

Tucked away near the gleaming football stadium of Tottenham Hotspur in London is a plain, nondescript apartment building. Beyond its unremarkable facade lies a dark reality: a small flat connected to deadly crimes taking place thousands of miles to the south.

Per British official documents, this one-bedroom flat in the capital is connected to a transnational network of companies implicated in the mass hiring of fighters to combat in Sudan alongside militias charged of myriad 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 the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter, and the systematic murder of civilians.

These contractors were key participants in the RSF's seizure of the south-western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which triggered a wave of violence that experts believe has cost at least 60,000 lives.

While accounts of violence increase, links have been identified between the fighters contracted to capture El Fasher and locations in the UK capital.

UK Address Linked to Sanctioned Firm

The apartment in Tottenham is registered to a company named Zeuz Global, set up by two people identified and sanctioned recently by the American authorities for hiring contractors to fight for the RSF.

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

The firm remains active. The day after the US treasury announced sanctions on those behind the recruitment network, Zeuz Global suddenly relocated its official location to the very heart of London. Its updated address matches one luxury accommodation in Covent Garden.

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

"It is of serious worry that the primary figures the US government claims are directing this mercenary supply have been able to establish a UK company based from a apartment in north London," said Mike Lewis, a analyst and ex-participant of a UN panel on Sudan.

Questions Raised Over British Firm Oversight

Analysts argue the situation highlights concerns over how people publicly sanctioned by the US for "fueling the conflict in Sudan" were able to apparently establish and operate a firm in the UK capital.

The UK's top diplomat has condemned the RSF for "organized murder, torture and sexual violence" following the faction's capture of El Fasher. The RSF has been charged by the US with genocide.

When asked about the company, the registry did not respond on whether it had awareness of the firm’s operations or verify the location of the sanctioned individuals.

Reaching out to Zeuz proved unsuccessful; its online site, set up in May, was labelled as "under construction" with lacking information.

Operation Headed by Retired Officer

Per the US treasury, the figure at the centre of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer based in the Gulf state.

The US alleges this individual of having a central role 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 dual national was similarly censured for managing a business alleged of handling funds and payroll for the network employing the mercenaries.

"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.

Company Registration and Escalating Violence

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

Three days later, the RSF attacked the Zamzam camp for displaced people, slaughtering more than 1,500 innocent people. After its seizure, the camp was handed over to Colombian mercenaries, who began planning for assaulting El Fasher.

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

The two describe Britain as their "country of residence".

Impact on the War and Wider Issues

The recruitment of the South Americans has had a significant effect on the course of the conflict, experts state. These nationals have reportedly instructed minors to be combatants, as well as acting as marksmen, infantrymen, instructors, and operators for drones.

These drones proved instrumental in the fall of El Fasher and during fighting in surrounding areas.

"The war in Sudan is a technologically advanced one, with guided weapons and long-range drones causing regular civilian deaths," said the analyst. "These systems require outside assistance to operate. We know that the recruitment network has been a major component of this outside support."

He noted that the participation of penalized persons 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 license 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 stated.

Government Response and Ongoing Allegations

A UK official stated that the recent introduction of "compulsory ID checks" for corporate officers would provide greater assurance about who was setting up and controlling UK firms.

The Colombians’ involvement in Sudan first emerged last year, leading to an apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

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

The UAE, long accused of supplying weapons to the RSF, has also been linked to the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries. A report alleged that UAE nationals supplying fighters to the RSF were linked to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has consistently denied these allegations.

A British government spokesperson said: "The UK is demanding an immediate end to atrocities, the safety of civilians, and the lifting of barriers to humanitarian access."

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