Barran Press - Al Jazeera
The Financial Times reported that the ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime transferred approximately $250 million in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019, while his family secretly acquired assets in Russia.
According to an analysis of banking records, the funds were delivered to a Russian bank designated for financial institutions. Despite ongoing Western sanctions, Assad's top aides continued to move assets to Russia during this period.
The newspaper revealed that the Assad regime, facing a severe shortage of foreign currency, shipped around two tons of $100 bills and €500 notes to Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, where they were deposited in Russian banks that are also under sanctions.
These unusual transfers from Damascus highlight how Russia, Assad's main ally, has become one of the primary destinations for Syrian cash after Western sanctions effectively excluded Syria from the global financial system.
In 2019, the Financial Times reported that the Assad family had purchased at least 20 luxury apartments in Moscow since 2013, utilizing a complex web of companies and loan arrangements. Recently, The Times speculated that the Assad family might relocate to Moscow City after Russia granted them asylum for humanitarian reasons.
On November 27, Syrian opposition factions launched "Operation Deterrence" from Idlib and Aleppo, advancing toward Hama and Homs, ultimately entering Damascus and declaring the fall of the Assad regime.