A factory operator that used to be owned by Maersk sold weapons to countries at civil war following the Second World War, write Danish newspaper Berlingske and online outlet Frihedsbrevet based on thousands of documents from the Danish National Archives that haven’t previously been described.

The weapons factory is that of company DISA, known colloquially in Denmark as ”the rifle syndicate.”

The sales took place after the Second World War and up until the 1960s, with one destination being Columbia in the 1950s, when the country was amid a civil war.

According to Berlingske, DISA sold weapons and ammunition for a total of DKK 176m (USD 27m) between 1947 and 1957.

Correcting for inflation, the number would correspond to DKK 2.5bn in today’s currency, writes the newspaper.

This number doesn’t cover sales of spare parts for weapons or components.

There are no indications that the weapons exports took place in violation of the law.

A number of historians tell both media that the documents are sensational.

”Maersk has apparently been deeply involved in controversial weapons sales. It’s new to me that Maersk has had such an influence in this kind of business,” says Poul Villaume, professor emeritus at the Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen, to Frihedsbrevet.

The Maersk group is no longer a shareholder of DISA.

The Maersk family declines to comment on the matter to Frihedsbrevet.

Maersk’s press office tells Berlingske that the company has no comment on the story.

DISA still exists today but doesn’t manufacture weapons.

Norican Group, the company’s current owner, tells Frihedsbrevet that it has no knowledge of the syndicate’s weapons sales of the post-war era.

English edit: Jonas Sahl Hollænder

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