8 hours agoFT: Between 2018-2019, Assad transferred two tons of money to Russia by plane
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)The recently crashed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad flew $250m in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019, the Financial Times reported last night. Citing the first financial data from the newspaper, FT said the Syrian central bank had sent nearly two tons of $100 bills and 500 euros [...] to Russia.
Citing the first financial data from the paper, FT said the Syrian central bank had sent nearly two tonnes of $100 and 500 euro bills to Russia, which were later deposited in sanctioned banks.
The media reported that the transfers were made at a time when the Assad regime was highly dependent on Russian military support, and at the same time Assad's relatives bought property in Russia, including luxury apartments.
Moscow deployed its forces in Syria in 2015, supporting the Assad regime against the rebel forces.
Syrian rebels announced on December 8th that they had successfully toppled Assad following a lightning offensive across the country, which culminated in the capture of the capital city Damascus.
Moscow convinced Assad to flee to Russia with his family after realizing that his regime would fall because of the rapid progress of the rebels, Bloomberg reported on December 11th, citing sources near the Kremlin.
An expert told the FT that money transfers from Damascus to Moscow were evidence of “a combination of securing their illegal profits and Syrian state assets abroad”.
The regime had to move money abroad to a safe place so that it could use it to ensure a comfortable life for Assad and his inner circle,” said David Schenker, US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs from 2019 to 2021.
