“After the fall of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a “hunt” began for his family’s wealth, which they accumulated during half a century of authoritarian rule. According to estimates, their assets may reach 12 billion dollars, accumulated during half a century of dictatorial rule.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
After the fall of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a “hunt” began for his family’s wealth, which they accumulated during half a century of authoritarian rule. According to estimates, their assets may reach 12 billion dollars, accumulated during half a century of dictatorial rule.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Details: The Assad family owns one of the largest illegal financial empires in the world.
According to US State Department estimates for 2022, the value of Assad-related businesses and assets could reach $12 billion. A significant part of the money was withdrawn to offshore areas such as Dubai and Russia, from where it will be particularly difficult to get it back.
Often, the family received this money through state monopolies and the drug trade, especially captagon. The income from its sale is estimated at 2.4 billion dollars a year. The clan then partially reinvested these funds in jurisdictions inaccessible to international law, where sanctions against the Assads do not apply, and were also used to finance repression and military campaigns.
“They had a lot of time before the revolution to launder their money. They always had a plan B, so now they are well prepared for expulsion,” said Andrew Tabler, who was responsible for Syria policy in one of the structures of the National Security Council under the white house
“The wealth of the Assad clan grew even during the civil war, when 70% of Syrians were below the poverty line,” World Bank analysts note.
While ordinary Syrians languished in poverty, the children of the regime’s influential figures flaunted their wealth by posting pictures of luxury cars and expensive parties.
The opposition, which is trying to form a new Syrian government, has announced plans to return these funds to the Syrian people.
“We are obliged to return this money to the Syrian people,” said French lawyer William Bourdon, who is handling the Assad assets case.
Prehistory:
- The Assad regime held power in Syria for 53 years and collapsed after a 12-day offensive by rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or the Levant Liberation Organization, ended on December 8 with the capture of the country’s capital, Damascus.
- The head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Hadi Al-Bahra, announced plans to form a civilian government after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
- Muhammad al-Bashir became the new interim prime minister of Syria.
- The Russian state agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported that the deposed Syrian president Bashar Assad and his family are in Moscow, and Russia has given them asylum.