As Assad has struggled to retain power in Syria and his hunt for cash has grown more desperate, he has repeatedly shaken up his inner circle — even as the regime shakes down former loyalists.At the center of power, the Assads have remained a constant. Bashar, 56, has ruled since 2000, when he assumed power following the death of his father.
Yasar Ibrahim, 38, has risen faster and higher than perhaps any other businessman. Virtually unknown before the war, he has emerged as Bashar’s favored frontman over the past two years, displacing Makhlouf, outmaneuvering Foz and gaining control of the cellphone industry and other economic sectors. No photos are available of Ibrahim., which had raised hopes of political reform across the Middle East and expanded economic opportunity. In Syria, the opposite has happened.
The Syrian regime has also become an alleged drug trafficker, accused by U.S. and Western officials of producing mass quantities of the amphetamine Captagon at facilities in loyalist areas along Syria’s coast. In 2020, European and Arab authorities— more than Syria’s annual budget — according to the Center for Operational Analysis and Research, a global risk and development consultancy.
But that approach has been upended dramatically over the past two years, as Assad turned on formerly trusted insiders and abandoned any pretense of entrepreneurial partnership. “We were hoping to be one day be part of the new Syria — to be part of the reconstruction and that this regime would not be there,” said an executive with knowledge of the takeover. “We no longer have any hope of going back.” The executive spoke on the condition of anonymity and asked that the name of the company not be published, saying that relatives and employees still in Syria remain vulnerable.
In May of last year, the company executives were arrested. These five top employees, including four men and one woman, were detained in simultaneous 2 a.m. raids and taken to a prison run by the internal security branch of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate, according to Syrians familiar with the case. A sixth employee was taken into custody the next day from his office in Damascus.
MTN, which operates in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East, worried that it might face U.S. financial penalties if it were caught doing business with the sanctioned Syrian, the executive said.
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