Two businessmen of Arab origin whom the Americans linked to a network of illegal arms trafficking to states hostile to the West have been linked to Cyprus as well.
Evidence now being released by the US authorities shows that these two individuals, who are wanted by the FBI, had set up a mechanism to facilitate their activities. A mechanism that included our island.
As it turns out, they were involved in at least two companies registered with the Cyprus Registrar of Companies, and they have also used the occupied territories for their purposes. The registered office of these business entities is located in Paphos.
These people are 45-year-old Samir Raja and his 63-year-old partner Mohammad Deiry. Both appear to be the brains behind the Black Shield network, which has recently been the subject of massive sanctions by the US Treasury Department (OFAC). This network takes its name from a company of the same name in which Raja and Deiry are allegedly shareholders.
The reason why the two men have been placed on the US Federal Police’s wanted list is that – according to US sources – they have been involved in arms trafficking without obtaining the necessary licenses and are suspected of offenses related to money laundering.
Official information released by the US Department of Justice states that Deiry and Raja, through Black Shield, support the illegal supply of arms and ammunition used in conflicts around the world by troops who do not serve Western interests.
Seeking to establish the exact role of Cyprus in the case, Phileleftheros examined the indictment filed in the US Southern District Court. In it, no detailed details are given. However, in one of the explanatory notes of the indictment, it is stated that one of the conspirators “sent an encrypted message containing photographs of certificates of two final recipients of 750,000 rounds of 23 mm anti-aircraft missiles (…) falsely representing the final recipient of the ammunition as a person in Northern Cyprus (i.e. TRNC)”.
What we know for sure and beyond what is stated in the indictment drafted after the FBI’s investigation is that Raja and Deiry are involved in at least two business entities that have a stated address in Paphos. These companies last Tuesday were included in OFAC sanctions aimed at hurting Belarus – for its support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine – and its associated Black Shield network.
The companies in question are S. Group Airlines Ltd and Centuronic Ltd. The management structure of S. Group Airlines Ltd also includes 45-year-old Samir Raja and 63-year-old Mohammad Deiry. The former appears as director and his partner as secretary. As far as Centuronic Ltd is concerned, Raya is presented as its director and Tatiana Protopovich from Belarus is presented as its secretary. The latter was recently identified by OFAC as being involved in ‘arms procurement’ efforts.
