Washington Punishes Two Cypriot Companies Involved in Exporting Weapons to Sudan
Events – Agencies
The United States of America has imposed sanctions on two companies registered in Cyprus due to their “involvement in a global arms network.”
Individuals linked to the companies have been accused of exporting weapons to Sudan and are wanted by the FBI.
It turns out that Centuronic Airlines Ltd and S. Group, based in Paphos and founded in 2018, are front companies for Black Shield, “an ostensibly Iraq-based weapons company.”
According to the US Treasurer’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Black Shield is led by Lebanon-based Samer Raya and Syrian Mohamed Majd Diri. They are the director and secretary respectively of S. Group Airlines registered in Cyprus.
Both are wanted by the FBI and “accused of conspiring to illegally export weapons and ammunition from the United States to Sudan,” OFAC said.
The United States imposed sanctions on both Raya and Al-Diri.
The Cyprus company registrar shows Raya as secretary of Centuronic Ltd alongside Tatiana Protopovich as director.
Black Shield used front companies based in Cyprus and Raya Danismanlik, based in Turkey, to manage its business. It was also punished.
OFAC identified Protopovic as a director of Centuronic Ltd, and as CEO of Raya Danismanlik, Nora Yagmur participated in Turkey in attempts to purchase weapons.
