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Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad, appeared with a new post on his Facebook page, in which he insinuated that “injustice has exceeded his energy”, after the measures taken by the authorities against his companies. in the country, at a time when the top officials of a competing company resigned. To your mobile service company.
Makhlouf’s empire, the main financier of the Syrian regime for decades, was shaken by its shaky relationship with Syrian regime president Bashar al-Assad, who is waging a battle to restore his authority and revive its economy after 9 years of war, in a case where family, political and financial interests overlap, according to observers and experts, citing Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper.
After staying out of the spotlight for years, Makhlouf emerged from his silence with statements and two videos on his Facebook page that exposed the tension between him and his cousin Bashar al-Assad regime, in a battle analysts hope will have serious consequences for him.
Makhlouf, 51, was seen as one of the pillars of the system economically. The United States and the European Union impose severe sanctions on him for his relationship with the regime.
The Makhlouf crisis began when the summer of 2019 laid hands on the “Al-Bustan Association” that he leads, which formed the “human front” for his work during the years of the conflict, and dissolved armed groups linked to it.
In December, the government issued a series of decisions to reserve the movable and immovable funds of various businessmen, including Makhlouf, his wife, and their companies. They were accused of tax evasion and illegal profits during the 2011 war.
At the end of October, al-Assad assured that “anyone who wastes money from the state” will be reimbursed.
“In Syria, it should always be remembered that anti-corruption campaigns are many, but they are futile, and their aim is simply to drop heads that stand out,” said researcher on Syrian affairs Fabrice Balanche.
Makhlouf and the Syrian President have been friends since childhood. When the latter assumed the presidency, he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, in 2000. Makhlouf was one of the most prominent pillars of the policy of economic openness promoted by Assad’s son.
Makhlouf is at the forefront of an economic empire that includes businesses in the telecommunications, electricity and real estate sectors. He runs the Syriatel group, which owns about 70 percent of the communications market in Syria. It also owns the majority of the shares of various companies, especially “Sham Holding” and “Ramak Investment” and “Ramak for Development and Humanitarian Projects”.
The director of the “Syria Report” economic bulletin, Jihad Yazigi, says that Makhlouf “controlled all sectors, including the largest private sector company in Syria”, ie (Syriatel). There were many sectors in which nobody could work without passing. lesson”.
There are no estimates of his wealth, but of course it is “billions of dollars,” according to Yazigi.
During the years of conflict, Makhlouf’s views were very rare. His last appearance is in the most prominent days since his interview in May 2011 with the “New York Times”, in which he said: “It is impossible, and nobody can guarantee what can happen, if God does not allow it, something will happened to the system. “
In March 2011. When the Syrian throats called for reforms and then overthrew the regime, Makhlouf had his share of the chants. In the Daraa governorate in the south, protesters chanted: “By land for land, Makhlouf took the road,” and “We want to talk about the short … We robbed Makhlouf’s family.”
Balanch says Makhlouf continued through the war years “to grow his business … and due to shell companies, he was one of the few who managed to evade sanctions, to come to Syria with ships laden with goods.”
Yazji believes Makhlouf’s departure to the public today is the result of his “feeling of mounting pressure on him to marginalize him,” noting that he tried to “resist long before tearing down the last newspaper and exposing the family dispute.” But he emphasizes that “it will cost him a lot.”
Makhlouf, who is believed to be in Damascus, opened a new Facebook account in April and published several statements about him to defend his actions, through two videos this month in which he presented himself as a victim of “devices”. He went to Assad, describing it as a “safety valve,” and asked him to intervene to save the telecommunications company from collapse, after the government asked him to pay around $ 180 million as part of the treasury fees.
In the second section, Makhlouf accused the security services of arresting his employees to pressure him to leave their companies. He asked: “Does anyone expect the security services to reach the companies of Rami Makhlouf, who was the greatest defender and sponsor of these agencies during the war?”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that the security forces arrested dozens of “Syriatel” employees.
“The government took a lot of businessmen,” an Arab diplomatic source in Beirut, following the file, told the France-Presse agency, but “it appears that Makhlouf refused to pay what they asked for, amid reports that he tried to get money out of the country. “
He points to two main factors behind the Makhlouf case, the first of which is that “it has grown a lot” and the second is “the urgent need for funds as a result of the economic crisis.”
The Syrian economy is exhausted by the war, and the lira registered a record decline against the dollar during the summer, and today it exceeded 1,200 pounds. And government forces control areas are witnessing a serious fuel crisis. Food prices have increased 107 percent in 2019 alone, according to the World Food Program.
Media reports spoke of the role of Asma, Assad’s wife, in the confrontation between the regime and Makhlouf. “It is very difficult to really know what is going on,” Yazigi said, adding: “Asmaa, whose role is growing, may want to secure her future and her son” by eliminating the Makhlouf family, which has long been the first ally. of the Assad family.
The Rami Makhlouf case is not the first in which politics has intertwined with the family in Syria. “Of course, it is a problem at the heart of the regime,” says Balanche, noting that “Assad is overthrowing a relative like his father did with his brother, Rifaat,” who forced him to leave the country in 1984.
He adds: “In Rami’s case, Assad may be satisfied with breaking his wings, as he is finally his relative,” noting that the problem is related to “Syria’s first wealth and Bashar al-Assad’s cousin.”
Balanche concludes that Makhlouf “felt he was intangible and indispensable, but in this type of authoritarian regime, we must remember from time to time that no one is immune.”
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