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December 17, 2024 | 12:16 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Syria’s central bank sent US$250 million in cash to Russia in 2018 and 2019, when former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was heavily dependent on Russian military support, the Financial Times reported, as reported by The Moscow Times.
From March 2018 to September 2019, more than 20 flights reportedly arrived at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport carrying a total of more than $250 million. The cash shipments, consisting of $100 bills and 500-euro bills, weighed nearly two metric tons.
The money was deposited into two sanctioned banks, Russian Finance Corporation Bank (RFK) and TsMR Bank. Russian Finance Corporation Bank, part of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, was sanctioned by the United States in 2024 for foreign exchange transfers and sanctions evasion on behalf of the Syrian regime.
“The Syrian state could have paid the Russian state to intervene militarily,” said Malik al-Abdeh, a London-based Syria analyst.
The Russian intervention in 2015 was seen as a turning point in the Syrian civil war, strengthening the Assad regime in its fight against various rebel forces.
Earlier this month, Bashar Assad fled to Russia as rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham entered Damascus after a lightning offensive, ending more than five decades of rule by the Assad regime through the Baath Party.
"The Syrian central bank cash transfer could also be a combination of securing ill-gotten gains (the Assad family) and Syrian inheritance abroad," said David Schenker, a former US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.
"The regime has to take its money abroad to a safe place so that it can use it to ensure a good life for the regime and its inner circle," Schenker said.
Bashar Al Assad fled to Russia after being ousted from office as president. For the first time, Assad issued a written statement from Russia.
Assad said he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim base on December 8, 2024, when the base was attacked by drones. He went to Hmeimim after leaving Damascus that morning as rebel fighters approached.
"At no time during these events did I think about resigning or seeking refuge, and no one made any such proposal," Bashar Al Assad said in his statement.
According to Bashar Al Assad, he remained in the capital Damascus and carried out his duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024. "When the terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in coordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations," he said.
However, after arriving at the Russian airbase in Hmeimim that morning, the Syrian army had fallen. He left the country and flew to Russia.
Bashar al-Assad hardly told anyone about his plans to flee Syria. His aides, officials, and even relatives were also unaware of Assad's plans.
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