Syria's fallen dictator Bashar Assad airlifted approximately $250 million in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019, amid escalating Western sanctions and deepening financial dependence on Russia for military and economic support, a report said on Sunday.
Syria's central bank flew shipments of U.S. dollars and euros, weighing nearly 2 tons, to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, documents obtained by the Financial Times revealed. These funds were deposited into Russian banks sanctioned by the U.S.
The transfers came during a period when Syria, struggling with depleted foreign reserves, relied heavily on Russian military backing, including support from the Russian mercenary group Wagner.
"The regime would have to bring their money abroad to a safe haven to be able to use it to procure the fine life... for the regime and its inner circle," said David Schenker, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs.
Syrian cash was used for various purposes, including payments for wheat, military expenses and money-printing services in Russia.
"When a country is completely surrounded and sanctioned, they have only cash," a source familiar with the transactions noted.
The Financial Times investigation also highlighted how Assad's family and associates moved assets into Russia.
Since 2013, Assad's relatives purchased at least 20 luxury apartments in Moscow using intricate financial arrangements.
Eyad Hamid, a senior researcher at the Syrian Legal Development Program, said: "Russia has been a haven to the Assad regime's finances for years," underscoring its role as a hub for sanctions evasion.
U.S. officials have accused Assad’s regime of widespread corruption and criminal activity to finance its war efforts.
The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned multiple Syrian and Russian entities involved in facilitating these cash transfers.
Malik al-Abdeh, a Syrian analyst, noted: "The Syrian state could be paying the Russian state for a military intervention."
These revelations shed light on how Assad's regime sustained itself financially during Syria's devastating civil war while Western sanctions pushed it further into Moscow's orbit.
Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8 after anti-regime groups seized control of Damascus in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.
