While the Syrian people starved, Bashar al-Assad and his British-born wife, Asma Akhras, lived a lavish lifestyle, funneling the national treasury into private bank accounts. The fear that kept Syrian journalists silent vanished the moment Assad fled Damascus on December 8, 2024.
Assad was raised in privilege and power, but it was his London-born wife, a JP Morgan economist, who drove corruption to unprecedented levels. Asma was never the victim, and history may remember that she was the First Lady of Syria who brought the Assad family to its knees and forced dozens of families to flee in the night to escape. Meanwhile, Asma is in a multi-million dollar mansion in Moscow while dying of leukemia.
Plundering National Wealth Through NGOs
Asma founded an NGO, the Syria Trust for Development (STD), to portray the Assad regime as humanitarian. The United Nations alone provided $130 million, and international donor funds flowed to Asma’s office, which she controlled alone.
The cash and donations were pooled and distributed in a way that rewarded those who believed in the regime and members of the Assad family. In the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, international aid planes began arriving at Damascus airport. Asma single-handedly controlled storage and distribution.
Assad loyalists, regardless of their wealth, were rewarded with supplies. Asma’s corrupt officials then sold the free aid stockpiles to traders. The needy Syrians were not recipients of humanitarian aid. International aid groups knew what Asma was doing and had published numerous reports about her corruption.
Mobile Phone Monopoly
Asma, through her businessman friend, known as Abu Ali Khader, monopolized the import, sale, and sale of mobile phones. Her company was called “EmmaTel,” as “Emma” was called by friends in the United Kingdom where she was born and raised.
With the threat of arrest or prohibitive taxes, Asma prevented any competition from other businesses in mobile phone sales. Bashar and Asma imposed taxes of over 100% on any mobile phone sold in Syria, including any mobile phone purchased from her exclusive company.
For example, every iPhone sold around the world costs between $1,000 and $1,500. However, in Syria, it would cost around $3,000.
The added benefit was to pay for the Assad family’s luxury at the expense of the Syrian people. Tarif Akhras, Asma’s uncle on her father’s side, was appointed the exclusive importer of sugar, wheat, and other staples. Asma’s brother, Feras Akhras, made sure to get his share of the Syrian pie.
Imports from China
After the seizure of oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria by the Kurds and US troops, people suffered from a severe electricity shortage. Most homes received electricity for just three 30-minute intervals a day. Gasoline was also scarce, so gas-powered generators could not be used.
Chinese-imported solar panels and batteries were in demand to meet electricity needs. Syrian businessmen were banned from importing these items, as Asma appointed her brother Feras as the exclusive importer of solar panels and batteries. Oil production in Syria before 2011 was about 400,000 barrels per day. Profits from crude export sales were not returned to the treasury but deposited directly into Assad’s private bank accounts.
Reconstruction Profits and the Fires
The reconstruction required gravel and stones to build buildings based on the concrete block style used in Syria. Asma appointed her brother Feras as the exclusive agent and supplier for all gravel and stone supplies.
Small family businesses in the countryside were forced to close and their trucks were confiscated. A series of fires broke out along the coast. The areas burned were scattered and not contiguous. Experts could not figure out what caused these mysterious fires.
Later, it was revealed that Asma’s office associates had started the fires in order to buy prime land at a lower cost from owners who could not afford to replant their olive trees. The STD was ordered by Asma to evict the landowners from their lands.
