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The Caesar Act, which was approved by the US Congress, came into force last June, to initiate sanctions against the Syrian regime and its allies, the latest of which was the inclusion of the US Treasury, this week, of the Kamal Imad al-Din al-Madani and Tariq Imad al-Din al-Madani, in their capacity. One of the founders of the oil company “Salizar” is on the sanctions list.
Salizar has an 85 percent stake in two joint ventures with the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Syrian Refining and Distribution Corporation (PERD) to establish two new oil refineries in Syria.
According to the data of the Lebanese Commercial Registry, the family business “Salizar”, of its type, is of limited liability, and all its partners are of the same surname (Imad al-Din al-Madani), and was registered on April 12, 2018 at 12:00 pm (unusual procedure in law).
According to the official file of the company, the theme of his work revolves around “general trade, import, export, commission, intermediation, nationalities, marketing, promotion, establishment and management of factories of all kinds, transport, maritime and land transport , and all trade and real estate construction “, according to its official file.
And the file continued that the company specialized in the oil business in Syria, contrary to its subject matter, did not mention in its official file restrictions, contracts and agreements, as recorded in its schedule published on the website of the Lebanese Commercial Registry.
Salizar is not the only one, as the Syrian regime has worked to rely on Lebanese companies, mostly Lebanese partners, to evade sanctions from the United States, which, according to legal sources, was aware of its danger to its corrupt economy, according to legal sources, to the Al-Hurra website.
The sources added that “around 13 companies related to reconstruction and contracting were established in the Lebanese business registers during the last two years, including but not limited to” AF Contracting “, explaining that” the objective of this is first to allow the international investors enter the reconstruction line without exposing them to danger. “Sanctions.”
A recently published investigation of the “Levent” network revealed that a Syrian member of parliament, Sobhi Abash, owns stakes in “Al-Ittihad Petroleum SAL” and “Oil Stream Offshore SAL”, whose subject is doing oil business. .
In this context, the director of the media platform “We Are All Partners”, and the Syrian economic researcher, Ayman Abdel Nour, confirmed in an interview with Al-Hurra that, “Lebanon is the main place for money laundering and the pumping of dollars to Syria, as admitted by the president of the regime, Bashar Al-Assad, in his last speech. Hold the Lebanese banks responsible for the collapse of their economy. “
Abdel Nour revealed that “two companies are registered with the same name in Syria and Lebanon, as long as they operate as an internal company that has bank accounts and economic practice abroad”, adding that “this is how the system uses the opening of credits documentaries for purchase and import through Lebanese banks and ports, and then transferred to the interior. Syrian. “
He noted that “after the regime’s work plan is exposed, the latter would turn to Iraq, specifically to establish companies in the Kurdistan region, in addition to others in Europe, especially in Romania, because Rami Makhlouf’s father-in-law, the cousin of Bashar, Walid Othman, has diplomatic immunity that allows him to transfer money through the diplomatic bag on behalf of the embassy there, as an alternative to Lebanon. “
And he considered that “the size of foreign companies is enormous, and with different names of partners, which are changed every period to evade US sanctions”, noting that “most companies are owned by a single person, or of a partner and his brother, to get rid of the obstacle of capital and organize work at scale and cost. ” Significantly more than what is recorded in its financial statements. “
Abdel Nour stressed that “most of the companies are fully licensed in Lebanon or Syria and are not necessarily multinational or offshore companies.”
In light of the continued economic sanctions that are being followed by foreign moral and material figures who support Assad, Jalal interviewed, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Leadership Studies at the American University of James, told Al-Hurra that, “ The United States uses many ways to pressure regimes it considers Hostile to it. “
He said: “The US administration has made sure not to slip militarily in the Syrian crisis.”
The American Institute researcher considered that “the policy of economic sanctions against the Syrian regime is the maximum that can be used, imposing sanctions on people and entities that are believed to have an economic relationship with the Syrian regime.”
He said: “In determining the parties to which economic sanctions are imposed, it is practical to shed light on these parties and better monitor their movements, thereby cutting off the channels of support that these parties obtain to work to support the Syrian regime,” he noted. that “the only challenge on the issue of economic sanctions is It takes more time to get results compared to military power.”
