WASHINGTON — The United States has imposed sanctions on
Syrian firms said to rely on support from Syrian intelligence to enrich the family of President Bashar Assad with the smuggling of drugs and weapons.
The Treasury Department has placed sanctions on a Syrian mobile phone
company as well as a duty-free shop network, Middle East Newsline reported. The department said both
companies were linked to the family of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The companies were identified as SyriaTel and Ramak, banned from doing
business with the United States or Americans. The cellular phone provider
and the duty-free shops were said to be controlled by Assad's cousin, Rami
Makhluf.
"Rami Makhluf uses his access to high-level Syrian government insiders
to enrich himself at the expense of the Syrian people," Adam Szubin,
director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said. "We will
continue to target Makhluf and his commercial empire as well as others who
follow in his footsteps."
Officials said the Bush administration has decided to impose sanctions
on Assad's family. They said the family reaps hundreds of millions of
dollars in revenues from drugs, weapons smuggling and official corruption in
Lebanon and Syria.
This marked the second set of U.S. sanctions on Makhluf in 2008.
Treasury said Makhluf held at least 50 percent of SyriaTel and Ramak.
"Makhluf, a maternal cousin of Syrian president Bashar Al Asad, has
exploited his relationships with Syrian regime members to amass his
commercial empire," Treasury said. "Makhluf has manipulated the Syrian
judicial system and has used Syrian intelligence officials to intimidate
business rivals."
