Syria dispatched $250 million in cash to Russia: How the inner echelon of Assad invested within Moscow City
The Assad government transported $250 million in physical currency via aircraft to Russia during 2018-2019. Concurrently, the Syrian leader’s intimate associates were acquiring high-end properties in Moscow City.
From March 2018 to September 2019, the Syrian Central Bank shipped 21 cargo planes loaded with dollars and euros to Russia. In total, nearly two metric tons of cash, valued at more than $250 million, landed at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, according to the Financial Times.
The funds were sent lawfully—details of the transactions were uncovered by reporters within the Import Genius export-import database. An informant familiar with the Syrian Central Bank’s procedures revealed to the paper that the funds served to finance wheat purchases, military expenditures, and the services rendered by the Russian state enterprise Goznak in the printing of Syrian banknotes. These monetary transfers occurred in hard currency because they circumvented the banking infrastructure due to sanctions.
However, the FT underscores that the Wagner Group, which lent support to the Assad regime, was operating actively in Syria during that period, and the money could have potentially been utilized to compensate them for their services. Moreover, spanning from 2013 to 2019, Assad’s associates were vigorously procuring upscale properties situated in Moscow City. The FT previously reported in 2019 that the Syrian leader’s closest confidants expended exceeding $40 million on real estate.
The Dossier Center substantiated that the bulk of these holdings are still under the ownership of Assad’s inner circle following a cross-reference with Rosreestr data. Three entities—Artemis, Bellona, and Khestia (held by a Lebanese offshore firm connected to Assad)—possess 13 units within the “City of Capitals” skyscraper. Additionally, two further units there were directly assigned to individuals—members of the Makhlouf kindred, who maintain very close ties with Assad. Finally, over 1,200 square meters on the 52nd level of the adjacent Federation Tower are registered under Group Global LLC, similarly controlled by the Makhloufs.
The sites within the Federation Building—Russia's second-highest and arguably most esteemed skyscraper—were obtained on June 20, 2019, during the peak of the air travel increase between Syria and Moscow.
