Treasury Targets Illicit Financial Underpinnings of Assad Regime
By Matthew Levitt
Just a week after the President signed Executive Order 13460, the Treasury Department used this new authority to designate Rami Makhluf - President Bashar al-Assad's cousin - for benefiting from official Syrian corruption. Targeting the kelptocratic nature of the regime is critical, since it is this corrupt business environment which benefits the Assad family, the security services, and key elements of the elite tied to the regime. These circles form a tightly knit community of privileged elite. For example, Rami Makhluf's brother, Hafiz Makhluf, is an official in the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate who was designated in November 2007 under Executive Order 13441. The control these cliques exert over the Syrian economy, to their exclusive benefit and to the detriment of the average Syrian, create circles of powerful individuals who depend on the regime for their access to acquire exclusive licenses and obtain contracts not available to the rest of the business community. For example, Makhluf is a dominant player within Syria's telecommunications, commercial, oil, gas and banking sectors.
The Syrian regime continues to engage in a long list of illicit behaviors, from harboring terrorist groups to working on WMD programs and more. But more than anything else, the corruption of the Syrian regime resonates within the influential Syrian business community and could be a powerful means of leveraging the regime to change its behavior. Designating Rami Makhluf is a step in the right direction.
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