Assad Airlifted More Than $250 Million in Foreign Cash to Moscow Over Two Years

Ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad airlifted over $250 million in cash to Moscow over the course of two years, according to the Financial Times (FT).

Between March 2018 and September 2019, Assad’s central bank transferred shipments of US and Euro banknotes–$100 and €500 bills–amounting to some $250 million to be deposited in sanctioned Russian banks.

According to financial records available to the FT, on May 13, 2019, $100 bills totaling $10 million were flown from Syria to the Vnukovo Airport in Moscow. In February 2019, €20 million in €500 notes was transported by plane to Moscow. Over the entirety of this 2-year period, there were a total of 21 flights carrying cash valued at over $250 million and weighing almost 2 tonnes.

These shipments reportedly occurred at a time when Assad was indebted to Russia for military support.

The FT also recently revealed that Assad and his extended family had purchased at least 20 luxury apartments in Moscow City for $40 million between 2013 and 2019.

Former intelligence officer of the Assad regime, Khalid Beyye, claimed that Assad moved $135 billion in assets to Russia during his flight from Syria.

“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.”

Following the capture of Damascus and the toppling of the Assad regime by Syrian rebels on December 8, Assad sought refuge in Moscow in an escape believed to be orchestrated by Russian intelligence.