By Nikos Morfonios, Ioanna Louloudi, MIIR

With a Golden Visa in hand. This is how Mohamad Majd Deiry, a Syrian man wanted by the FBI for arms smuggling and money laundering, appears to have been traveling around Greece. And it is also what Samer Rayya did, his Lebanese associate who is currently a fugitive from Greek authorities. 

The Mediterranean Institute for Investigative Reporting (MIIR), in its investigation also published by Ef.Syn. entitled “The Mediterranean Wings of the Underworld” (2/8/2025), revealed recently that Deiry had appeared in Syria’s Damascus International Airport on June 30, during the official reception of the first flight of the Greek airline Air Mediterranean from Athens. It now appears that this is the same man who reportedly since 2018 had secured a Greek Golden Visa valid for five years, through an investment in prime real estate on the island of Aegina. Specifically, Deiry, along with his two sons and Rayya, appears to have paid at least €900,000 for a luxury villa in the tourist area of Perdika on the Saronic island to which they have even made donations. 

Samer Rayya and Mohammad Majd Deiry in the FBI “Most Wanted” list – Source: FBI

At the same time, data from the Greek General Commercial Registry (GEMI) show that Rayya ran his own “strawberry and blueberry cultivation” company in Greece since 2019, first in Athens and then in Mykonos, and that he kept signing the company’s financial statements even in 2023, when the Greek police authorities were looking for him. 

These findings raise serious questions about the broader oversight by Greek authorities, which, in their efforts to attract investment to the country, appear to be neglecting checking the origin of funds that are used to purchase Golden Visas and to start new businesses in Greece.

Mohamad Majd Deiry (second from the right) at Damascus International Airport upon the arrival of the first Air Mediterranean flight from Athens, June 30, 2025 – Source: Syrian Civil Aviation Authority

Who are the wanted Golden Investors? 

Since 2024, Deiry and Rayya have been included in the sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury (OFAC), as well as in the FBI’s most wanted list, based on a 2021 indictment. 

“These defendants allegedly ran an international arms trafficking ring and conspired to unlawfully export anti-aircraft ammunition and other military arms and munitions from the United States to Sudan and Iraq, promoting violence and putting Americans and our allies at risk,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division had said at the time. 

According to the US authorities, the two men, since at least 2016, had been the heads of the arms trading Black Shield Company for General Trading LLC.  Based in Irbil, Iraq, Black Shield had “acquired and sold arms used in conflicts around the world, including from key Belarusian defense company Kidma Tech OJSC, an entity designated by OFAC”. At the same time, the two men allegedly “brokered weapons deals and offered air transport services in the Middle East and Africa for individuals, nonstate actors, and government customers, including from Russian arms companies. Black Shield and Deiry maintained relationships with individuals allegedly linked to the Syrian government and engaged in business activity on behalf of the Iranian regime”.

Lebanese national Raya was arrested at Athens airport in 2022. According to a recent investigation by iMEdD, Rayya was detained in Athens for 16 days and released on bail with a condition that he not leave the country. However, he failed to appear at his trial in February 2023 and has been on the run ever since.

Mohamad Majd Deiry speaks at an event in Damascus for the launch of Air Mediterranean flights from Athens, 30-6-2025.

The wanted Syrian Majd Deiry reappeared in Damascus on June 30. A post by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority presents him as the chairman of the board of a Lebanon-based company called “Arkhos“.  Photos from the reception of the first Air Mediterranean aircraft from Athens show Deiry in front of the aircraft, and later speaking at an event at a large hotel in Damascus on the launch of Air Mediterranean’s new routes to Syria, via Athens, from Vienna, Cologne, and Berlin. 

In a legal warning letter sent to MIIR by Air Mediterranean, the airline claims that it has “no connection” with Deiry, whom it claims is an “advisor on aviation issues” to Arkhos and not the company’s president. However, it is a fact that Deiry spoke formally about the Europe-Syria air link via Air Mediterranean at this event, even making statements to journalists under the title of “Chairman of the Board” of Arkhos.

The Golden Visa uncontrolled mayhem

In 2017, the Greek government, along with dozens of legal, notary, and real estate agencies, advertised the Golden Visa – the program for obtaining a “Permanent Investor Residence Permit”, which at the time was granted for any legal purchase of real estate over €250,000.  From 2024 onwards, in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and on islands with a population of over 3,100, the minimum investment threshold is €800,000 for a property. In the rest of Greece, the minimum amount for a Golden Visa is €400,000.

Lift-off under the Mitsotakis government

The result of this systematic advertising is clear: from 2018 to 2024, a total of 22,928 permanent investor permits have been issued, according to data from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, while during the same period, at least 6,124 permits of this privileged type have been renewed. In fact, there has been an 81% increase in golden visas issued in the first half of 2025 (5,294) compared to the first half of 2024 (2,926).

Data source: Ministry of Migration and Asylum

Mohamad Majd Deiry also rode this wave of obtaining golden visas through real estate. He was granted a permanent investor residence permit in Greece in May 2018, initially valid for five years, by decision of the Decentralized Administration of Attica region. 

In fact, the decision document, which was examined by MIIR, states that Deiry “meets all the requirements for the issue of the aforementioned residence permit”. The file also includes a document from “the relevant police authority”, which is said to have reviewed and given the green light for the issue of a golden visa. He is therefore declared as a permanent resident of the seaside village of Perdika, on the island of Aegina. This decision is also communicated, as required by procedural rules, to the Headquarters of the Hellenic Police.

What kind of review was conducted in 2018 to give the Syrian businessman a permanent investor permit? And what exactly did the police documents mention in the case of Deiry on public order and security reasons, which (as defined in Law  4251/2014) are a prerequisite for the issuance of such a permit? 

We made an inquiry about the case with the competent authorities of the Directorate for Aliens and Migration of the Southern Sector, Piraeus & Islands, which processed the application for the Golden Visa, as well as with the General Secretariat for Migration Policy.  Citing the law on personal data, the Aliens Directorate limited itself to a general statement to MIIR: “We would like to inform you that the provisions of the Migration Code apply at all stages of processing, communication, and control with regard to the examination of residence permit applications from third-country nationals.”

The General Secretariat for Migration Policy did not respond to our questions.

The luxurious villa and charity activities in Aegina 

The two-story house with a pool and the extra plot of land, covering a total area of 4,600 square meters, is located at Kleidi, Sfendouri in Perdika, Aegina, and was bought in September 2017 for €900,000. 

According to the purchase agreement examined by MIIR, there are four buyers who deposit the money under a resolutive division (with a promissory note for payment in one month) for the entire property, which, as stated, has an objective value of almost three times less than the selling price, at €362,453. 

The two buyers are Deiry and Rayya, while the other two are Deiry’s sons, who still have a business presence in Greece today. The first two and one of the sons undertake the deposit of €256,500 each, while the other son has to deposit €130,500. The sellers were already paid €50,000 upon signing the contract, with the transfer coming from the Lebanese Swiss Bank. 

After obtaining their Golden Visas in 2018, Deiry and Rayya proceeded to establish companies in Cyprus. They are listed in the Cypriot business registry as “permanent residents of Greece”, but their registered address of residence is not Aegina. Instead it is stated as the address of the building that houses the Southern Sector, Piraeus & Islands Aliens & Migration Directorate in Piraeus. OFAC also included these Cyprus-based companies in its sanctions list, judging that Deiry and Rayya were acting as intermediaries through shell companies “in arms deals and providing air transportation to the Middle East and Africa”. 

From guns in Florida to strawberries in Mykonos 

From 2019 to 2023, according to GEMI (Greek business registry), Rayya appears as the sole partner and manager of the company “AGRIWA MONOPROSOPI I.K.E.”, which is reportedly active in the cultivation and packaging of strawberries and blueberries. Today, the company is said to be based in Mykonos, without Rayya present. Although a fugitive and wanted by the FBI, Rayya signed the financial statements of this company in 2023. 

According to data from the General Secretariat for Migration Policy, Rayya’s Golden Visa has now been revoked. However, this does not seem to be the case for Deiry’s permit, which is in a “permit pending” status, indicating that Deiry’s renewal application in March 2023 appears to have been approved. 

So, how is it possible that the Greek authorities are once again ignoring the fact that this individual is wanted by the FBI for serious crimes?

Charitable works in Aegina

Mohamad Majd Deiry’s “public service project” in the Municipality of Aegina is also impressive. Specifically, in December 2022, Deiry, together with his son, donated 990 plants and flowers to the Municipality of Aegina, which were planted in the central Ethnikis Antistaseos Square. 

The mayor of Aegina, Yannis Zorbas, publicly thanked them for this offer, expressing his hope that “others will follow suit.”

Today, the jointly purchased residence in Aegina is rented out as a luxury tourist accommodation through platforms (Airbnb, Booking) and a separate website. 

One night there costs only… €1,665.