$135 Billion Allegedly Smuggled by Assad to Russia, Reports Turkiye Gazetesi

Former intelligence officer Khalid Beyye claimed that Bashar al-Assad transported $135 billion in assets to Russia during his escape, according to Turkiye Gazetesi on December 10.

“The Assad family transferred the nation’s resources into their own pockets during the years of civil war,” Beyye stated. “As the regime collapsed, they took a large portion of the country’s economy with them.”

According to Turkiye Gazetesi these claims have drawn international attention, with many questioning the origins of the fortune and how it will be managed by the Assad family, now in exile in Moscow. Uncertainty also remains about whether legal action will be pursued to recover the assets.

Previously, Alexei Zhuravlev, deputy chairman of the State Duma’s defense committee, has called for granting Russian citizenship to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has reportedly sought asylum in Russia.

On December 10, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the world, highlighting Assad’s atrocities committed against Syrians.