Mohamad Majd Deiry, 62, of Syria and Samer Rayya, 44, of Lebanon are principals of Black Shield Ltd., an arms company based in Iraq. Aside from Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, they also have ties to Belarus, Libya, Russia, Sudan and Turkey.
Both Deiry and Rayya are wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is based in Washington, D.C., United States. They are still at large.
Mohamad Deiry, Samer Rayya wanted by FBI
Between April and November 2016, Deiry, Rayya and others allegedly conspired to export munitions from the U.S. to Sudan and Iraq. They did not first obtain the required licenses or approvals from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, an agency within the U.S. Department of State, also based in Washington, D.C.
The co-conspirators are accused of trying to illegally acquire the munitions from the U.S. in a deal worth $1,200,000, which was part of a larger scheme to illegally acquire $4 million worth of 23-millimeter ammunition. The munitions were transshipped from the U.S. to Guatemala and from Guatemala to false end-users in Cyprus before ultimately arriving in Sudan and Iraq.
As part of the conspiracy, Black Shield wired a downpayment of $100,000 from a front company in Benin. The company has emissaries from India and Belarus who traveled to the U.S. to inspect the munitions.
There were middlemen between the supplier and end-users. These brokers are from different countries including the U.S., Israel, Romania and Uzbekistan.
On November 2, 2021, federal arrest warrants were issued for Deiry and Rayya. The FBI’s field office in Miami, Florida, USA is investigating the case.
Both Deiry and Rayya speak Arabic, English and Russian. They were each charged with conspiracy to unlawfully export defense articles from the U.S. and conspiracy to engage in international money laundering.
