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The relationship that the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, has with the Makhlouf family is no longer the same as in previous years. The circumstances he is currently going through and the series of economic pressures, together with political pressures, have pushed him to make decisions that observers described as forced to adapt to what will be tomorrow.
The most prominent example of these decisions is the fight he recently started against his cousin Rami Makhlouf, which continues to this day, giving rise to the recent decision he issued to remove the governor of the Damascus countryside, Alaa Munir Ibrahim. , considered one of his most prominent confidants, for being the husband of the daughter. His aunt, Reem Naguib, is the sister of Atef Naguib and the daughter of Fatima Makhlouf (the younger sister of Anisa Makhlouf, mother of Bashar al-Assad).
The decision on Alaa Munir Ibrahim did not stop only at the dismissal, followed by a decision of the Ministry of Finance in the Assad government to place the preventive seizure of movable and immovable funds belonging to him, his wife and children.
In a statement seen by the Al-Hurra website of the Ministry of Finance in the Assad government, the figures whose funds were seized were named: former Governor Alaa Munir Ibrahim, his wife Reem Haj Najib and their children Basil, Fatima al- Zahra and Bashar.
“Controversial” statements about refugees
Going back a bit, Ibrahim’s firing and the seizure of his money had been preceded by his “controversial” statements, during the refugee conference in the Syrian capital Damascus, which was promoted by Russia and with the Assad government heavily.
Ibrahim had said at the time that it was possible to receive Syrian refugees in assemblies, if the Syrian sanctions were lifted, adding that the returnees would not return to their areas directly, as the governorate has several assembly units, such as the units in Harjila. and Adra (which are camps that were previously used for exiles from Settlement Zones in Damascus and their camp).
However, looking at the decision to seize his money, it seems that his aforementioned statements have nothing to do with what happened, but that the reasons go to cases of corruption and embezzlement, which, although confirmed by loyal sources, did not come out to the public. light until after the decision to dismiss, and after four. Years of tasks that Ibrahim held in the province of Damascus.
Among his duties for the last four years, Ibrahim was one of the most prominent figures present in the capital’s field, especially in the projects that the Assad regime government announced to work on, in the Daraya and Moadamiya regions, and arriving in Eastern Ghouta.
The former governor of Rural Damascus, born in Lattakia, played an important role in the settlement agreements that were carried out in the countryside of Damascus, which are among the most prominent agreements that were overturned in the processes of demographic change, which the Syrian regime began working in an undeclared manner, under Iranian auspices.
Clean the surrounding circuit
According to what the “Al-Hurra” website monitored, the precautionary seizure decision issued by the Finance Ministry in the Assad government did not include any reason behind such a process. However, loyal sources confirmed that the matter is related to corruption cases, which were not limited only to the four years of his functions in the governorate of Damascus. On the contrary, he retires to the positions he had previously held, especially in the position of Head of the Directorate of Technical Services in Latakia.
From another point of view, the expert and economic consultant Younes al-Karim believes that the step to remove Ibrahim and seize his funds is linked to several paths, perhaps the most prominent of which are the attempts that Bashar al-Assad seeks. , as part of his “undeclared electoral campaign”, in the last five months prior to the presidential elections in April. 2021.
Al-Karim told Al-Hurra: “Bashar al-Assad is also trying to get rid of some figures whose loyalty to him is questioned on the one hand, and to send messages to the popular incubator on the other hand and to the community in his set that is working to clean up the circle that surrounds it, in a step that can improve the big picture, after years of war. ”
The economic analyst adds: “Part of the electoral campaign through which Assad tries to convey the idea that he indirectly left Atef Najib.”
Atef Najib is the most prominent official of the Assad regime, who was one of the main causes of the first spark of the Syrian revolution, when he was head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa governorate, and the arrests and torture of activists that accompanied him in his hands, at the beginning of the peaceful movement.
Naguib, as mentioned above, is the brother of Alaa Munir Ibrahim’s wife, whose money was also completely seized according to the decision of the Ministry of Finance, despite the fact that she is the son of Bashar al-Assad’s cousin.
“Pleasure of transmitting Asthma”
On the other hand, economic analyst Younes al-Karim does not rule out that the decision to fire Ibrahim is linked to the ongoing conflict between Bashar al-Assad’s wife, Asma al-Assad and the Makhlouf family, which was confirmed by reports from Syrian media in recent months, and linked it to the recent surge in media, in parallel with their attempts at control. Companies of the businessman Rami Makhlouf, through a liquidation campaign that they have been going through until now.
The economic analyst says: “The decision to fire and take over may be to satisfy the Asma al-Assad movement and achieve a victory even if it is imaginary.” for him”.
In December last year, the Assad regime government issued a series of decisions to seize the movable and immovable funds of several top businessmen, including Rami Makhlouf, his wife and his partners.
They have been charged with tax evasion and making illegal profits during the war since 2011.
Although, as part of the campaign related to the seizure decisions, it also affected businessman Hani Azouz, who issued a decision to reserve precautionary seizures on his movable and immovable money, despite the fact that he was close to Bashar al-Assad himself.
And Syrian media reported at the time that the regime’s Finance Ministry had issued a decision to fine Azouz around 565 million Syrian pounds ($ 350,000), due to cases of importation and smuggling of goods worth 186,000. million Syrian pounds.
