Did Assad foresee the end of the regime as early as 2018?
Could Bashar al-Assad have known that he would eventually go into exile in Russia?
Doron Peskin, Middle East Expert 17.12.2024
According to the Financial Times, between 2018 and 2019, Assad ordered the governor of the central bank to transfer about $250 million to Russia.
The amount was transferred in cash in $100 and €500 bills. The cash was transferred on flights departing from Damascus to Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport.
A total of 21 flights were operated to transfer the funds. The funds were deposited in Russian bank accounts operating under Western sanctions.
Sources told the newspaper that Russia has become the Assad regime's financial haven and essentially a "center for evading sanctions."
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