Overview

• Robert Granieri transferred $7 million in early 2024 to Peter Ajak, whom he believed was a human rights activist but who allegedly diverted the funds to buy weapons.
• Federal prosecutors in Arizona indicted Ajak and Abraham Keech in March 2024 for conspiring to export AK-47s, Stinger missiles and grenades to overthrow South Sudan’s government.
• Court filings detail how Ajak used a fictitious humanitarian contract to conceal the true purpose of the funds and and arranged a warehouse inspection of weapons with an undercover agent in Phoenix.
• The accused’s defense contends the State Department knew of the coup plan and that prosecutors selectively targeted Ajak and Keech, both Black men, while sparing other figures.
• Granieri faces no charges and his lawyer maintains he was deceived about the intended use of his contributions, emphasising his history of human rights philanthropy.