Elias Bejjani/Text & Video: In Syria, Assad Was Toppled, but His Regime Remains — Erdogan, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Godfather, Has Replaced the Iranian Mullahs
In Syria, Assad Was Toppled, but His Regime Remains — Erdogan, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Godfather, Has Replaced the Iranian Mullahs Elias Bejjani/July 24/2025
Introduction
The head changed, but the body remained the same. This summarizes what happened in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s barrel-bomb and chemical regime. The dictatorship was not broken—it merely changed face. The mafia that ruled the country did not disappear; it was replaced by a more extremist one, led by the terrorist Ahmad al-Sharaa, known as “al-Jolani”, leader of “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” (formerly al-Nusra Front). With Assad’s fall, the authoritarian structure and security apparatus remained—only the patron changed, from Iran’s mullahs to Erdogan’s Turkey, from Assad’s “resistance axis” to Erdogan’s cross-border Islamist
Brotherhood project.
Al-Jolani’s Dictatorship: A New Face of Repression in the Name of Religion
Al-Jolani, who led jihadists in Idlib, quickly rebranded himself as “President” of the new Syria, under Turkish regional backing and international complicity, particularly from the West, Israel, and some Gulf states who seem to have traded the real Syrian revolution for an illusion of “stability.” This illusory “stability” is based on the culture of political Islam, jihadism, and Salafism, aimed at eliminating opponents, suppressing minorities, and re-producing dictatorship with a sectarian face. Al-Jolani is forcefully imposing Sharia law in its Muslim Brotherhood form on Christian areas, threatening Christians with conversion or violence. The Church of Mar Elias in Damascus was bombed by one of al-Jolani’s followers, killing dozens. He also committed mass atrocities against Alawites in Latakia, killing over ten thousand in a clearly sectarian campaign. The Kurds, who initially cooperated with al-Jolani, were also betrayed. He demanded they disarm without guarantees or political participation, repeating the Brotherhood’s infamous pattern of treachery under Erdogan.
Sweida: An Open Wound
What is happening in Sweida with the Druze continues unabated. Al-Jolani’s bloody, hateful, and ideologically driven regime did not stop with earlier massacres around Damascus. He now continues a policy of terror and assassinations in southern Syria through jihadist death squads and armed Bedouin militias that he funds and hides behind—with Turkish support—under the pretext of “rebellion” or “collaboration with Israel.”
Economic Restructuring… Legalized Theft
A shocking investigative report by Reuters on July 24, 2025, revealed how the president’s brother, Hazem al-Sharaa, is secretly leading a restructuring of Syria’s economy with the help of an Australian-Lebanese terrorist financier named Ibrahim Skaria (Abu Maryam), listed under terrorism sanctions. Together, this shadowy duo is looting billions under the guise of “economic reforms,” redistributing wealth to corrupt businessmen from the Assad era in exchange for immunity. The result: institutionalized corruption, legalized expropriation, and continued security-state dominance under new Islamist branding. Over $1.6 billion has been seized from three Assad-era figures, while Hazem al-Sharaa and his partners now control Syria’s top telecom, oil, and aviation companies. “Sham Wings” became “Fly Sham” in a suspicious deal, and a new sovereign fund was created under the presidency, managed exclusively by Hazem—without any public oversight.
From al-Nusra to the Presidential Palace: The New Caliphate?
Once known as “Abu Mohammad al-Jolani”, he is now called “President Ahmad al-Sharaa”, with his militias embedded in the state under names like “economic committees.” There is no constitution, no elections, no pluralism. No place for dissent, minorities, or human rights. Just clerical rule—an Islamic state in civilian disguise—managed by Erdogan with a green light from the international community.
Erdogan’s Role in Fueling Conflict and Blocking Arab-Israeli Peace
In Syria’s tangled scene, one cannot ignore Erdogan’s destructive role. Like Iran, he uses similar tools: stirring wars, weakening states, and obstructing peace. By activating his jihadist proxies in Idlib and northern Syria, Erdogan stokes conflict among Syrians and between them and minority groups—Druze, Alawites, Christians, and Kurds—as seen today in Sweida, and previously in Homs, Afrin, and Ras al-Ayn. This is a deliberate strategy to fragment societies and make Syria a battleground for his expansionist ambitions. Worse still, these conflicts serve a broader regional goal: to block normalization between Israel and Arab states—especially Saudi Arabia’s accession to the Abraham Accords. Erdogan is replicating Iran’s tactics—just like Hamas did with “Al-Aqsa Flood”—by using HTS and similar militias to keep the region in permanent unrest, sabotaging peace. Erdogan’s deep hatred for Arabs is clear. His neo-Ottoman project aims to deny them the right to decide their future or make peace without Turkish interference. Like Iran, he exploits the Palestinian issue for political gain—hypocrisy disguised as solidarity—to expand his power at the expense of Arab sovereignty and stability.
Erdogan Controls al-Jolani and Threatens the Arab World
It is now obvious—even to the blind and ignorant—that Erdogan, the neo-Ottoman Islamist, sponsors and controls the jihadist al-Jolani. He is the godfather of the Muslim Brotherhood and their protector. In short, all the massacres committed in Syria—against Christians, Druze, Alawites, Kurds, and freedom-loving free Muslims—are engineered by Erdogan to pave the way for his Islamist-Turkish domination of the region.
Assad Is Gone… But the Regime Remains
Let it be said plainly: Assad is gone, but the regime remains. It has only been rebranded—with more extremist Islamism. Repression remains. Sectarianism remains. The politicized economy remains—but with new faces and new flags. The revolution did not win—it was aborted. Syria was not liberated—it was re-occupied. Not by Iran this time, but by Turkey. The only difference is that al-Jolani speaks in the name of “Islamic moderation” instead of “resistance.”
Conclusion: Syria Caught Between Two Jaws – The Countdown Begins
Syria is no longer a state. It is a farm run by a former jihadist under the name of al-Sharaa. The greatest danger is that this regime—which combines Assad’s corruption, al-Qaeda’s extremism, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s cunning—could spark an even greater explosion. Druze are bleeding, Christians are threatened, Alawites are slaughtered, Kurds are targeted, and the world watches under the banner of “reconstruction opportunity.” This is the farce of the century—and Syria is its first victim.
تقرير من رويترز/الجولاني وشقيقه حازم يعفشون وينهبون سوريا بقلم: تيمور أزهري وفراس دالاتي تقرير خاص من رويترز/24 تموز/2025
سوريا تعيد تشكيل اقتصادها سراً.. وشقيق الرئيس هو من يتولى المهمة
لجنة ظل تعيد تشكيل الاقتصاد السوري من خلال استحواذات سرية على شركات من حقبة الأسد. يكشف تحقيق أجرته رويترز أن شقيق الرئيس الجديد، حازم الشرع، إلى جانب أسترالي خاضع لعقوبات دولية، هما من يقودان جهود تفكيك الفساد. لكن لتحقيق ذلك، يعقدان صفقات مع رجال أعمال يرتبطهم السوريون بسنوات من المكاسب غير المشروعة.
دمشق – في الأسابيع التي أعقبت سقوط دمشق بيد المتمردين السوريين، تلقى رجل أعمال بارز اتصالًا ليليًا للذهاب لرؤية “الشيخ”.
العنوان كان مألوفًا – مبنى كانت تتم فيه عمليات الابتزاز الدوري لرجال الأعمال مثله في عهد إمبراطورية بشار الأسد الاقتصادية.
لكن رؤساء جدد باتوا في الحكم.
بذقن طويلة وسوداء ومسدس على خصره، لم يذكر الشيخ سوى اسم حركي: أبو مريم. الآن، هو قائد لجنة تعيد تشكيل الاقتصاد السوري، وطرح أسئلة بلغة عربية مهذبة ولكن بلكنة أسترالية خفيفة. قال رجل الأعمال: “سألني عن عملي، كم نربح من المال… كل ما كنت أفعله هو النظر إلى السلاح”.
كشف تحقيق أجرته رويترز أن القيادة الجديدة في سوريا تعيد هيكلة اقتصاد دمره الفساد والعقوبات على نظام الأسد، من خلال مجموعة من الرجال الذين تم إخفاء هوياتهم حتى الآن خلف أسماء مستعارة. مهمة اللجنة: فك شفرة إرث الاقتصاد في عهد الأسد، ثم اتخاذ القرار بشأن ما ينبغي إعادة هيكلته وما يجب الاحتفاظ به
استحواذات سرية بـ1.6 مليار دولار
بعيدًا عن أعين العامة، استحوذت اللجنة على أصول تتجاوز قيمتها 1.6 مليار دولار. استنادًا إلى روايات أشخاص مطلعين على صفقاتها، فإن اللجنة استولت على ما لا يقل عن 1.5 مليار دولار من الأصول من ثلاثة رجال أعمال، إلى جانب شركة الاتصالات الرئيسية في البلاد، التي تقدر قيمتها بـ130 مليون دولار. الشخص الذي يشرف على إعادة الهيكلة الاقتصادية في سوريا هو حازم الشرع، الشقيق الأكبر للرئيس الجديد أحمد الشرع، بحسب ما توصلت إليه رويترز. أما قائد اللجنة، أبو مريم الأسترالي، فهو إبراهيم سكريه، أسترالي من أصل لبناني مدرج على لائحة العقوبات الأسترالية بسبب تمويل الإرهاب. يعرف عن نفسه على الإنترنت بأنه “رجل أعمال يعشق الشاورما والكريكيت”.
نخبة جديدة… بعقلية قديمة؟
قامت الحكومة السورية الجديدة بتفكيك الأجهزة الأمنية المخيفة التي كانت موجودة في عهد الأسد، وأصبح الناس قادرين على الحديث بحرية غير مسبوقة. ولكن المزيج الجديد من رجال عائلة واحدة وآخرين مجهولي الهوية يديرون الاقتصاد، يثير القلق لدى رجال الأعمال والدبلوماسيين والمحللين الذين يرون أن نخبة القصر القديمة قد تم استبدالها بأخرى جديدة. استند التحقيق إلى مقابلات مع أكثر من 100 مصدر من رجال أعمال ووسطاء وسياسيين ودبلوماسيين وباحثين، بالإضافة إلى وثائق مالية وسجلات اجتماعات وسجلات شركات جديدة. وجود اللجنة لم يُعلن أبدًا من قبل الحكومة، ولا يعرف عنه عامة الشعب. فقط من يتعاملون معها مباشرة يدركون سلطاتها، التي قد تؤثر على حياة ومعيشة جميع السوريين، في وقت تحاول فيه البلاد العودة إلى الاقتصاد العالمي.
صفقات مع رجال أعمال الأسد
قال أحد أعضاء اللجنة إن فساد نظام الأسد، الذي كان قائماً على هياكل شركات هدفها التربح أكثر من تحقيق الأرباح، ترك أمامهم خيارات محدودة للإصلاح. كان بإمكانهم ملاحقة رجال الأعمال المشتبه فيهم قضائياً، أو مصادرة شركاتهم، أو عقد صفقات معهم سرًا. تم استبعاد الخيارين الأولين خوفًا من إثارة الانقسامات أو تعقيد القضايا القانونية، فتم اختيار التفاوض: العفو مقابل أموال وسيطرة حكومية. لكن هذا النهج يثير استياء السوريين الذين يريدون العدالة، وقد يؤدي لترسيخ الشكوك في نوايا النظام الجديد. أربعة دبلوماسيين غربيين كبار حذروا من أن تركيز السلطة الاقتصادية بأيدي شخصيات غامضة قد يعيق الاستثمار الأجنبي، ويضر بمصداقية سوريا على المسرح المالي العالمي.
صندوق سيادي بيد الشقيق
في 9 يوليو، أعلن الرئيس أحمد الشرع عن إنشاء صندوق سيادي تابع للرئاسة، بحسب ثلاثة مصادر مطلعة. سيكون تحت إشراف شقيقه حازم.
في اليوم نفسه، أعلن أيضًا عن صندوق تنمية بقيادة أحد المقربين من حازم، وأصدر تعديلات على قانون الاستثمار بموجب مرسوم – تبين لاحقاً أن حازم وسكريه كانا من حررا النص النهائي. أستاذ دراسات الشرق الأوسط بجامعة سميث في ماساتشوستس، ستيفن هايدمان، وصف فكرة الصندوق السيادي بأنها “سابقة لأوانها”، محذرًا من غياب الشفافية والاعتماد على أصول غير فعّالة، ومنح الإدارة صلاحيات واسعة دون محاسبة.
Syria is secretly reshaping its economy. The president’s brother is in charge. By Timour Azhari and Feras Dalatey/July 24, 2025
Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa (center), is trying to rebuild the country’s ravaged economy. To lead the effort, he has tapped his older brother, Hazem (left), who is quietly overseeing deals to take control of major companies.
A shadow committee is remaking Syria’s economy with secret takeovers of Assad-era companies. A Reuters investigation has found the new president’s brother, Hazem al-Sharaa, along with a sanctioned Australian are in charge of untangling corruption. But to do so, they’re making deals with businessmen many Syrians associate with years of ill-gotten gains.
DAMASCUS – In the weeks after Damascus fell to Syria’s rebels, a leading businessman got a late-night call to come see “the sheikh.”The address was familiar, a building where periodic shakedowns of businessmen like him occurred under Bashar al-Assad’s economic empire.
But there were new bosses in town.
With a long, dark beard and a pistol on his waist, the sheikh gave only a fighter’s pseudonym, Abu Mariam. Now the leader of a committee reshaping Syria’s economy, he asked questions in courteous Arabic with a slight Australian twang. “He asked me about my work, how much money we made,” the businessman said. “I just kept looking at the gun.”
A Reuters investigation has found that Syria’s new leadership is secretly restructuring an economy broken by corruption and years of sanctions against Assad’s government, under the auspices of a group of men whose identities have until now been concealed under pseudonyms. The committee’s mission: decipher the legacy of the Assad-era economy, then decide what to restructure and what to retain.
Away from public scrutiny, the committee obtained assets worth more than $1.6 billion. That tally is based on accounts of people familiar with its deals to acquire business stakes and cash seizures, including at least $1.5 billion in assets taken from three businessman, and firms in a conglomerate once controlled by Assad’s inner circle, like the country’s main telecoms operator, worth at least $130 million.
The man overseeing Syria’s economic restructuring is Hazem al-Sharaa, the older brother of the new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Reuters has found. And the leader of the committee, Abu Mariam al-Australi, is Abraham Succarieh, an Australian of Lebanese descent named on his home country’s list of sanctioned individuals for alleged terrorism financing. He describes himself online as a cricket- and shawarma-loving businessman.
Syria’s new government has dismantled Assad’s much-feared security apparatus, and people can speak more freely than they have in decades. But the mix of family and men known only by noms de guerre who now run Syria’s economy has concerned many businessmen, diplomats and analysts, who say they fear one palace oligarchy is being replaced with another. The Reuters investigation drew upon interviews with more than 100 businessmen, intermediaries, politicians, diplomats and researchers, as well as a trove of documents including financial records, emails, meeting minutes and new company registrations.
The committee’s work, and even its existence, have never been announced by the government and are unknown to the general Syrian public. Only those with direct dealings are aware of its mandate, which has the potential to touch the lives and livelihoods of all Syrians and beyond, as the country tries to reintegrate into the global economy.
One committee member told Reuters the scale of corruption under Assad, built on corporate structures designed as much to skim assets as to make money, has left few options for economic reform. The committee could take businessmen suspected of ill-gotten gains to court as many Syrians demand, seize companies outright, or make private deals with Assad-era figures still under international sanctions. All carry risks of further pitting Syrians against each other – rich against poor, and those who prospered under Assad against those who suffered. Rather than take businessmen who profited from the Assad era to court or seize their companies, the committee decided to negotiate to recoup much-needed cash and establish control over the levers of the economy, allowing it to function without disruption.
Syria’s government, Hazem al-Sharaa and Succarieh did not respond to repeated requests for comment or reply to questions for this story. The president’s office referred questions to the Information Ministry. Reuters presented the findings of this report during an in-person meeting last week with the information minister and laid out its details and posed questions in writing to the ministry. The ministry didn’t respond before publication.
Over seven months, the committee has negotiated with the wealthiest Syrian tycoons, including some who are under U.S. sanctions. The committee has also made headway taking over a constellation of companies that were run out of Assad’s palace, the sources said.
Many tycoons linked to Assad, including an airline mogul sanctioned in connection with drug and weapons smuggling, and a businessman accused of scavenging and smelting metal from Syrian towns depopulated by Assad’s army, are keeping some profits and avoiding state prosecution, for a price. But that bargain, amnesty in exchange for a mix of cash and corporate control, risks angering Syrians seeking justice. Four senior Western diplomats said the concentration of economic power in the hands of shadow figures of unknown backgrounds also could impede foreign investment and credibility as Syria tries to rejoin the global financial system. The committee has met dozens of people, sometimes exonerating them, other times seeking a portion of their wealth, said the member who spoke about its activities. Ultimately, he said, ordinary Syrians will benefit when the companies are privatized, put up for public-private partnerships or nationalized, with proceeds going into a sovereign wealth fund.
On July 9, President Sharaa announced the formation of a sovereign fund answering to the presidency. Three people familiar with the fund said it would be overseen by his brother. That same day, Sharaa unveiled the creation of a development fund headed by a longtime associate of Hazem. The president also recently issued amendments to the investment law by decree. Although neither Hazem nor Succarieh have an announced government role, Reuters has found that the two edited the final text of the amendments. Steven Heydemann, a professor of Middle East Studies at Smith College in Massachusetts, told Reuters that a Syrian sovereign wealth fund is a “premature” idea. He criticized its reliance on vague “inactive assets,” and warned that granting autonomy to the fund’s management — including the president — undermines accountability.
The details about the new government’s secretive policy efforts come as the U.S. government is lifting economic sanctions on the Syrian state that date back to the Assad era. Asked to comment for this report, a State Department official said U.S. President Donald Trump is lifting the sanctions “to give Syria a chance at greatness.” “The President has also been clear that President al-Sharaa should take advantage of this historic opportunity to make important progress,” the official told Reuters in a statement.
A BAKER IN THE BANK
The prominent role of the committee deciphering Syria’s economy builds upon the authority its members had to manage money in Idlib, the hilly northern enclave where Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former militant Islamist group known as HTS, consolidated power under Sharaa’s leadership. Those living and especially fighting in Idlib habitually used pseudonyms, including President al-Sharaa, then the HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani. HTS originated as the Nusra Front, the Syrian arm of Al Qaeda, and much of the world viewed its leaders as terrorists until they ousted Assad in December. After breaking from Al Qaeda in 2016, HTS developed financial and governing structures, according to Syrians familiar with the group. In 2018, it created Watad, a petroleum company with exclusive rights to import fuel derivatives from Turkey, as well as its own bank, Sham Bank. Behind the HTS foray into business was Abu Abdelrahman, a former baker turned senior military commander, the committee member and two senior HTS officials told Reuters. They said Abu Abdelrahman established Idlib’s economic committee, initially an ad-hoc group of a few men loyal to Ahmed al-Sharaa. Abu Abdelrahman has overseen the committee’s evolution into an institution comprising dozens of people, from accountants and lawyers to negotiators and enforcers, they said. It exists outside formal state structures. The committee developed an economic wing focused on making money, headed by Abu Mariam, and a financial wing to manage those funds, led by Abu Abdelrahman, the sources said.
Abu Abdelrahman’s real name is Mustafa Qadid, according to three HTS sources. He set himself up on the second floor of Syria’s central bank the day after Damascus fell, two former employees said. Qadid did not respond to a request for comment via his top aide, who acknowledged receipt of a write-up of Reuters’ findings.
Abu Abdelrahman has become known to some Syrian officials and bankers as the “shadow governor,” with veto power over decisions by the official governor two floors above him. Presented with Reuters’ findings about the economic reshaping and Abu Abdelrahman’s role, the governor, Abdulkader Husriyeh, the governor of the Central Bank of Syria, wrote in a message, “This is not true.” He did not respond to requests to elaborate. The two former employees said major decisions require signoff by Abu Abdelrahman, whom they described as mild-mannered but favoring power centralization. “It’s just like before, when the palace decided all matters,” said one of them. One visitor months ago was bewildered to be introduced to Abu Abdelrahman. Like Abu Mariam, he was referred to as “the sheikh.” The term sheikh has a religious connotation but is also an honorific. The real name of the other “sheikh,” Abu Mariam, is Abraham Succarieh, Reuters found. Succarieh left his native Brisbane in 2013 one day before his brother Ahmed detonated a truck bomb at a Syrian army checkpoint, Australian prosecutors said, becoming the first known Australian suicide bomber in Syria. A third Succarieh sibling, Omar, was sentenced in 2016 to 4 1⁄2 years in prison in Australia after pleading guilty to charges of sending tens of thousands of dollars to the Nusra Front.
The brothers’ activities are described in documents submitted by Australian prosecutors to the country’s Supreme Court in response to Omar’s appeal of his sentence. Reuters was unable to locate Omar; his former lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment. Australia’s government confirmed Abraham Succarieh remains under sanctions but declined to say if it was aware of his current role, citing a policy against commenting on individuals due to privacy considerations. He goes by yet another pseudonym on X, Ibrahim Bin Mas’ud, according to six people who know him personally. The Bin Mas’ud profile describes him as a “Business Owner,” “Shawarma Lover” and “Cricket Fan.” The account posts on the toll of the war in Idlib and Islamic teachings. Succarieh was a fiercely competitive cricket player in Australia, according to a former teammate in Australia who knew him in his youth, and still discusses the sport online. He has also done English-language podcasts touching on issues such as Iranian influence in the Middle East and how enthusiastically Muslims should perceive Morocco’s stunning fourth-place finish in the 2022 World Cup.
Requests for comment to Succarieh about his role in reshaping Syria’s economy or the other findings of this report via a direct message to his X account and to his top aide went unanswered.
Hazem al-Sharaa, the president’s brother, is a former PepsiCo general manager in the Iraqi city of Erbil, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was a key supplier of soft drinks to Idlib, according to two people familiar with his past. Pepsico did not respond to a request for comment about the elder al-Sharaa’s work at the company or whether Pepsi was aware of his past activities or current role. Hazem al-Sharaa now oversees the economic committee’s work as part of his wide authority over business and investment matters in the new Syria. He holds no announced government position but appeared beside his brother on a February official visit to Saudi Arabia. Hazem al-Sharaa was first in line to be introduced by his brother to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to video filmed by Saudi state media, though he wasn’t identified in official readouts of the meeting.
‘MACHIAVELLI’
Arriving in Damascus in December, the committee initially set up at the Four Seasons hotel, home to the United Nations mission in Syria and foreign dignitaries, according to a hotel employee and two Syrians familiar with the matter. Committee members, as well as other HTS officials, were given rooms and suites free of charge, according to two people familiar with the arrangement. A well-stocked bar at the dimly lit Four Seasons cigar lounge was removed to accommodate the sheikhs and private meetings, including settlement talks, according to hotel staff and several people familiar with the change. The hotel has not been operated by the Four Seasons company since 2019, the company said. That is the same year the United States sanctioned its owner, Samer Foz. Foz had no comment for this report. The committee gradually relocated to offices previously used by prominent tycoons and Assad’s economy czar, Yasar Ibrahim, who has resided in the UAE since Assad’s ouster. Ibrahim didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Members quickly decided against suing businessmen suspected of ill-gotten gains because “we would be playing in their court,” the committee member said. Though some judges lost their jobs after Assad’s fall, many remain on the bench, and the new government feared being outmaneuvered by businessmen adept at working the court system, or lacking evidence for convictions in complex financial cases, according to the member and an auditor familiar with the talks. They said outright seizures were rejected, to avoid scaring off potential investors. Syria has a history of nationalizations dating to its brief union with Egypt in 1958 and continuing during the civil war, when the Assad government confiscated property belonging to opposition figures. That left the option of striking deals with the businessmen, getting them to relinquish assets in exchange for being allowed to return to work in Syria. The new government would also benefit from their expert knowledge. Syria’s new rulers “are not Fidel Castro,” the dictator who nationalized much of the Cuban economy, said a banker familiar with the talks. “Much more Machiavelli.” And so the new Syrian leadership began to untangle the Assad-era economy, which was largely split between tycoons who held major sectors in exchange for kickbacks to Assad and his inner circle, and the corporate empire run for Assad by economy magnate Ibrahim. The empire was known to insiders as “The Group.”
THE GROUP
In 2020, Assad appeared victorious in the civil war, thanks to Russian and Iranian support. By then, the palace had established a constellation of more than 100 companies it dubbed Al Ahed, according to a person involved in the plans from their inception and corporate documents. Assad government officials and cronies shared in the profits of the companies with their tycoon owners. It was all overseen by Ibrahim. After Assad fell, the ownership structure appeared even murkier. The Arabic word Al Ahed has several meanings, including “The Reign” and “The Pledge.”Reuters reviewed an unpublished ad from 2020, intended for a general audience, that diirectly links Assad to Al Ahed and describes it as a private company that’s helping Syria recover from war.
The video ad shows aerial footage of a Syrian city with collapsed buildings and cowering refugees, then pivots with rousing music to images of construction, abundant fields and production lines. “Sometimes, you can beat war with a smile, or someone who can wipe all of the sadness off your face,” the narrator says, as footage shows Bashar and his wife, Asma, brushing tears off a child’s cheek. “We decided to push on and create a new reality that resembles our dreams.” A slide from an internal presentation given to Assad’s inner circle in 2021 shows the cluster of real businesses and shell companies established under Al Ahed to control key economic sectors, including telecoms, banking, real estate and energy. As Damascus fell on December 8, Ibrahim fled. His sister, Nesreen, lamented The Group’s loss of control. “We no longer have any connection to any of the companies. Let them run these companies as they see fit,” Nesreen wrote to associates, according to a WhatsApp message seen by Reuters. She couldn’t be reached for comment.
The committee obtained the presentation and has used it to guide takeovers, the Assad-era flag replaced with the new one, according to a copy of the updated document seen by Reuters. Under Assad, Al Ahed prevailed Al Ahed was a Syrian conglomerate assembled under the Assad government that controlled vital economic sectors. A slide from an internal presentation from 2021, left, shows Al Ahed’s cluster of real and shell companies. The slide was updated for the al-Sharaa government by swapping out the Assad-era flag with the new one, at right, according to a document seen by Reuters. The new economic committee is using the chart as a guide as it seeks to bring the companies under its control.
Al-Ahed Company Projects
Industries
Oil project
Alternative Energy Projects
Tourism Projects
Agricultural Projects
Telecommunications Companies
Pharmaceutical sector
The Media Sector
Finance, banking and insurance companies
Real Estate Development Companies
Legal Consultations
Transportation (land/sea)
The Commercial Sector
Education Sector
Tech and Information sector
Security companies
Different Contracts
Foreign Companies
Offshore companies
Reinoud Leenders, a professor at King’s College London familiar with Syria’s political economy, said that Ibrahim penetrated virtually all of Syria’s economic sectors and may have controlled up to 30% of the country’s total output by 2024. The World Bank estimated Syria’s gross domestic product at $6.2 billion in 2023, around one-tenth of its pre-war level. A former Group financial director put the combined value of its core operations at up to $900 million. But it also accrued other assets, like Syria’s main telecom company, Syriatel, via partnerships Assad imposed on tycoons, cannibalizing the economy as the war wore on.
Those partnerships included the U.S.-sanctioned sugar and property baron Samer Foz and multi-sector tycoon Mohammed Hamsho, as well as Mohammad and Hussam Qaterji, brothers who ran vast oil and wheat operations.
Managing The Group’s finances initially proved difficult for the committee. That’s because only one person – Ahmed Khalil, an associate of Assad economy czar Ibrahim – had legal access to the bank accounts, according to three senior managers from The Group. The committee asked Khalil and Ibrahim to surrender 80% of the empire in exchange for immunity, people familiar with the matter say, but talks faltered. Neither man responded to requests for comment, nor did the Qaterji brothers. Hamsho denied any wrongdoing.
Even without Ibrahim’s cooperation, the committee made headway by striking deals with middle management. A key member of Ibrahim’s staff said he handed over data in exchange for immunity.
A second financial officer in The Group, who has also been working with the committee for months, said at least half of the Assad-era corporate empire has now been taken over. That includes the main telecoms company, Syriatel. It is now controlled by the committee through a member appointed as a signatory, according to a corporate registration document seen by Reuters. Syriatel said some of the Reuters findings were incorrect but did not respond to requests to elaborate. The U.S. State Department official said the U.S. sanctions that remain in place are there to promote accountability. “Broad and enduring stability in Syria will depend on advancing meaningful justice and accountability for abuses by all parties over the past 14 years,” the official said.
A ‘NEW’ AIRLINE?
Some of The Group’s largest companies have since resumed operations under new names, according to three sources aware of the matter and a document reviewed by Reuters. That includes Cham Wings, Syria’s only private airline. The carrier converted into a new company, Fly Cham, under a settlement with owner Issam Shammout, according to three senior aviation sources, a Cham Wings employee and a corporate record reviewed by Reuters. Cham Wings and Shammout are under U.S. and European Union sanctions for alleged involvement in flying mercenaries to Libya and illegal migrants to Belarus, transporting weapons and trafficking the narcotic Captagon. In exchange for immunity from state prosecution, Shammout gave up 45% of the company, according to the document. He also paid $50 million and handed over two aircraft to state-owned Syrian Air, the aviation sources said. The remaining three planes, all Airbus A320s, were repainted in Fly Cham colors but kept their tail numbers. Shammout kept his automobile concession, Shammout Auto, the sources said. A Cham Wings spokesperson declined to comment. A spokesperson for Fly Cham said: “Cham Wings is closed. Fly Cham is a totally new company.” A later statement suggested Reuters contact the committee directly. Sameh Orabi, general director of Syrian Air, told state news agency SANA in May that two new aircraft would join the national fleet but did not elaborate. A Cham Wings A320 with the tail identifier YK-BAG appeared in Syrian Air colors days later.
MELTED TOWNS
Some of the country’s biggest tycoons have also struck deals. Samer Foz, sanctioned by Washington in 2019 for allegedly profiting off Syria’s war reconstruction, handed over around 80% of his commercial assets, valued at between $800 million and $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal. The deal included one of the Middle East’s largest sugar refineries, an iron smelting plant and other factories, the person said.
Mohammed Hamsho, whose family enterprises encompass cable production, metalworks, electronics and film studios, handed over around 80% of his commercial assets, valued at more than $640 million, according to three people close to the deal. He was left with around $150 million, and family members kept their companies, the people said. As part of the deal, Hamsho surrendered a lucrative steel processing plant that had been partially taken over by The Group.
He has been accused by Syrian opposition and rights groups and businessmen of using the plant to process metal from neighborhoods demolished by Assad’s forces. The U.S. Treasury Department alleges he enriched himself through government connections and acting as a front for Assad’s brother, Maher, who led the Syrian army’s Fourth Division. Western governments have linked the Fourth Division to the illicit production and trade of Captagon, an amphetamine-like drug. Hamsho returned to Syria in January and lives under state protection at his penthouse in Damascus’ elite Malki neighborhood. Reuters journalists have repeatedly seen uniformed gunmen stationed in his entryway. Hopes have been high that the fall of Assad would open a new chapter for Syria, but difficulties have accumulated for Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government, most recently with bloodshed in the predominantly Druze south. Amr Salem, a former trade minister and advisor to Assad, said the new government’s pragmatic approach could benefit a broken country, but a lack of transparency and clear criteria for settlements is risking new abuses of power.
“I myself was asked to make a deal but refused, because I have done nothing wrong,” he told Reuters.
The deals have angered many Syrians who want to see prominent figures linked to Assad behind bars, triggering two small protests in June. “It’s insulting to Syrians. There is resentment in the Syrian street over the return of Assad’s businessmen or anyone who worked hand in hand with Assad,” said Abdel Hamid Al-Assaf, an activist who has protested Hamsho’s homecoming. Contacted by Reuters, Hamsho confirmed he held talks with the committee, but said he would reserve other comment until a settlement is announced.
“I encourage business leaders and investors to look toward Syria,” he said. “The country embraces a free-market economy and offers fertile ground for diverse and promising investment opportunities.”
Syria has gathered pledges of investment at a rapid pace. Saudi Arabia’s investment minister led a business delegation to Syria for a two-day investment conference that began July 23, with up to $6 billion in potential deals on the table in major economic sectors.As settlements conclude, some committee members have taken public positions. At least two were appointed to an official commission President Sharaa formed in May to manage some ill-gotten gains.The committee member said this was part of an effort to make official the work that they have so far carried out in the shadows.
“It’s a full rebranding, from inside and out,” he said.
Committee members’ use of the honorific “sheikh” is gradually being replaced by the Arabic equivalent of “mister.” Calls and meetings still happen late at night, but the paperwork gets taken care of during business hours. The committee men have also been told to don suits instead of khakis or casual wear, the member said, and they’re under orders to keep their pistols out of sight. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Reporting by Timour Azhari and Feras Dalatey. Additional reporting by Byron Kaye in Sydney, Australia. Photo editing by Simon Newman. Design by Catherine Tai. Edited by Lori Hinnant. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
