A recent Financial Times exposé reportedly suggests that the regime of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad airlifted around $250 million, approximately ₹2,082 crore in cash, to Moscow. The transactions spanned two years—2018 and 2019—and involved almost two tonnes of $100 bills and €500 notes. The banknotes were flown into Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport and deposited in two Russian banks under sanctions. It added that during this period, relatives of Assad secretly built a portfolio of assets in Russia.
The Financial Times underscored the fact that the deal underscores the extent to which Assad’s regime went in search of ways around the Western sanctions that had cut it off from the global financial system.
Assad, who is currently in Russia, fled Syria on December 8 after an 11-day rebel offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) following years of civil conflict ignited by his brutal response to anti-government protests in 2011.
The war has cost the lives of over 500,000 people and also displaced more than half of Syria’s population. Assad has come under severe criticism from different opposition figures who accuse his regime of plundering the wealth of the nation and descending into criminal activities to fund the war.
David Schenker, former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, told the Financial Times that such financial transfers were not surprising. “The regime would have to move their money abroad to a safe haven to ensure it could be used to maintain a lavish lifestyle for the regime and its inner circle,” he said.
Eyad Hamid, senior researcher at the Syrian Legal Development Programme, said that Russia has been a haven for Assad’s regime for years. The patronage of Russia increased when Russian firms started participating in Syria’s phosphate supply chain.
The two countries were involved in a record cash exchange between March 2018 and September 2019, the first such exchange of its kind. The Financial Times also reported that Russian banks have no record of receiving currency notes worth $250 million during the two-year period.
This situation arose because Assad and his close associates seized control of critical sectors of the war-torn country’s devastated economy. Reports suggest that Assad and his aides also profited from international drug trafficking and fuel smuggling, as cited by U.S. officials.
