The Assad family’s financial dealings are complex and opaque, making it challenging to accurately assess their wealth. Open-source estimates suggest a net worth ranging from $1 to $2 billion, but this is largely unverified due to the family’s intricate network of hidden assets. This report delves into the financial structures of Bashar Assad and key family members, revealing how they control significant portions of the Syrian economy and utilize illicit activities to maintain their wealth and power.
The Assad Financial Network: A System of Patronage and Concealment
The difficulty in pinpointing the Assad family’s exact wealth stems from their sophisticated system of dispersing and concealing assets across numerous accounts, real estate holdings, corporations, and offshore tax havens. Assets located outside Syria, evading seizure or sanctions, are often held under false names or through proxies to obscure ownership.
Non-governmental organizations and media reports indicate that the Assad family operates a vast patronage system built upon shell companies and corporate facades. This network acts as a conduit for the regime to access funds through seemingly legitimate business structures and non-profit organizations. It also facilitates the laundering of money derived from illegal economic activities, including smuggling, arms dealing, drug trafficking, and protection rackets. This intricate web allows the Assad regime to exert significant control over Syrian Money flows and economic resources.
Bashar and Asma Assad: Central Figures in Syrian Finance
Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, and his wife Asma Assad, are considered to wield considerable influence over Syria’s financial landscape. Both are sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). They maintain close relationships with key economic players in Syria, leveraging their companies to launder illicit funds and channel finances back to the regime. These patronage networks permeate every sector of the Syrian economy, highlighting their pervasive control over Syrian money.
Asma Assad has cultivated a powerful network with increasing control over Syrian financial matters. She exerts significant influence over the economic committee managing Syria’s ongoing economic crisis. This committee, according to reports, dictates decisions concerning crucial economic levers such as food and fuel subsidies, trade policies, and currency regulations, demonstrating her direct impact on Syrian money and economic stability.
Furthermore, Asma Assad has expanded her reach into the non-profit and telecommunications sectors. She reportedly maintains influence over the Syria Trust for Development, which she founded, directing funds towards charity and humanitarian initiatives within regime-controlled areas. In 2019, she purportedly gained control of the Al Bustan Charity from her cousin-in-law, Rami Makhlouf, further consolidating her influence over Syrian charitable funds. Her reach extends to telecommunications as well; in 2021, officials close to Asma were reportedly appointed to the board of Syriatel, Syria’s largest telecom company previously owned by Makhlouf until government seizure in 2020. Asma’s establishment of the telecommunications company Emma Tel in 2019, with sanctioned businessman Khodr Ali Taher, further illustrates her strategic moves within key sectors of the Syrian economy related to Syrian money.
Asma Assad’s family members are also implicated in financial activities. Her cousin, Muhannad Dabbagh, and brother, Firas al-Akhras, manage Takamol Company, responsible for the electronic SmartCard program used for subsidized food distribution in Syria. This control over essential resources further highlights the family’s grip on Syrian money and the distribution of vital goods. Firas al-Akhras was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of State in 2020, with the announcement explicitly stating that the Assad and Akhras families “have accumulated their ill-gotten riches at the expense of the Syrian people through their control over an extensive, illicit network.”
Maher Assad: Military Power and Illicit Finance
Maher Assad, Bashar Assad’s brother and commander of Syria’s Fourth Armored Division, heads a patronage network deeply involved in illicit activities. Sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2020, Maher and the Fourth Division are accused of supporting the Assad regime and committing human rights abuses. Maher’s network profits from diverse sectors, including communications, IT, engineering, energy, and tourism, showcasing the breadth of his financial interests linked to Syrian money.
The Fourth Armored Division is widely implicated in Syrian drug smuggling, notably the amphetamine captagon, alongside other illicit substances. Reports also suggest the division extracts fees from traffic passing through checkpoints under its control and levies protection and royalty fees on commercial transports, demonstrating how military power is leveraged for financial gain and control over Syrian money flows.
Maher Assad’s close business ties with Mohamed Saber Hamsho, a prominent Syrian businessman with interests across various sectors, are noteworthy. Hamsho, sanctioned in 2011, is considered a frontman for Maher Assad, facilitating his business dealings. Maher also has investments through the Telsa investment group and maintains relationships with the Qaterji family, whose companies manage oil wells and have been involved in fuel trade with ISIS. Khodr Ali Taher, also linked to Maher, organizes protection and collects royalties for the Fourth Armored Division. These connections underscore the intricate web of individuals and entities involved in Maher Assad’s financial network and its control over aspects of Syrian money and resources.
Bushra Assad and the Makhlouf Cousins: Further Entanglements
Bushra Assad, sister to Bashar and Maher, and widow of Assef Shawkat, a former high-ranking military official, was designated by the U.S. Department of State in 2020. While less information is available on her current financial activities, her family ties and past connections suggest her potential involvement in the broader Assad financial network.
Rami Makhlouf, a maternal cousin of Bashar Assad, was once considered one of Syria’s wealthiest and most powerful men, controlling a significant portion of the Syrian economy. Sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2008 for public corruption, Makhlouf publicly fell out with Assad in 2020, leading to house arrest and state receivership of many of his businesses. Open-source estimates placed his wealth between $5-10 billion, highlighting his immense influence over Syrian money.
Makhlouf previously held a majority stake in Syriatel Mobile Telecom and owned a 50 percent stake in Cham Holding, Syria’s largest holding company, both sanctioned by OFAC. His exclusive contracts to run duty-free markets in Syria were abrogated in 2020, and his charitable organization, Al Bustan Charity, was taken over by Asma Assad. These events indicate a shift in power dynamics within the Assad family and a potential restructuring of control over Syrian money.
Ihab Makhlouf, Rami’s younger brother, also a maternal cousin of Bashar Assad, was sanctioned in 2017 for supporting Rami Makhlouf. Following the rift between Rami and Bashar, Ihab’s role in managing family assets increased, particularly after gaining monopoly rights to duty-free markets. His investments in financial services and banking, along with his operation of numerous currency exchange offices in Damascus, illustrate his continued involvement in Syrian money and financial activities.
Rifaat Assad and the Shalish Family: Historical and Ongoing Financial Networks
Rifaat Assad, Bashar Assad’s paternal uncle, left Syria after a failed power grab in 1984 but maintained business interests until his formal expulsion in 1999. In 2020, a French court sentenced him to prison for money laundering and seized his properties and accounts in Paris and London, estimated at $850 million prior to seizure. Rifaat’s case demonstrates the Assad family’s long history of accumulating wealth through questionable means and holding assets abroad, impacting Syrian money and resources.
Dhu al-Himma Shalish and Riad Shalish, paternal cousins of Bashar Assad, also represent significant figures in the Assad financial network. Dhu al-Himma commanded the Presidential Guard and was sanctioned by OFAC in 2005 for procuring defense-related goods for Saddam Hussein. His company, SES International Corp, has vast interests in construction and automobile imports. Riad Shalish directed the Military Housing Establishment, sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2011. The Shalish family’s net worth is estimated at over $1 billion, derived from business interests and illicit activities, further demonstrating the extended family’s deep involvement in Syrian money and the economy.
Conclusion: The Grip on Syrian Money
The Assad family’s financial empire is built on a foundation of patronage, corruption, and illicit activities. Their control over vast sectors of the Syrian economy and their sophisticated methods of concealing wealth make it exceedingly difficult to trace and quantify their assets. This report highlights the key figures and networks involved in this financial system, demonstrating how the Assad regime leverages its power to control Syrian money and resources, often at the expense of the Syrian people. Understanding these financial structures is crucial for comprehending the dynamics of the Syrian regime and the challenges in achieving stability and accountability in the region.
