The tribulations of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's tycoon cousin took another twist on Thursday, with the billionaire defiant after his assets were seized by the government.
Rami Makhlouf said on Facebook that he was transferring his shares in banks and insurance companies to an organisation called Ramak Humanitarian.
He said Ramak Humanitarian was a charity dedicated to the regime's "martyrs", members of the Alawite sect who died defending the regime of Bashar Al Assad.
The sect has dominated politics, the military and the security apparatus in Syria since mostly Alawite officers took power in a 1963 coup.4
But Mr Makhlouf heads Ramak Humanitarian, the parent company of a corporate structure that combines business and non-profit organisations that are linked with an array of regime frontmen, according to regional bankers who have dealt with Mr Makhlouf.
"I started the process of transferring the ownership of all these shares," he said.
Fifty-year old Mr Makhlouf said the donation gave him "the feeling of huge satisfaction and force".
The move appeared to be in response to an official seizure on April 19 of his assets in a tax dispute involving telecoms company Syriatel, which he controls.
Syriatel is the largest company in the country but represents a fraction of the fortune Mr Makhlouf manages on behalf of the innermost circle of the regime, the financiers say.
"Any profit relating to those shares will be totally benefiting charities that serve the parents of every martyr whose blood had irrigated this beloved homeland, and every wounded person who had suffered greatly," Mr Makhlouf said.
He confirmed that shares in 10 banks listed in an official asset seizure document circulating on social media belong to him.
Among the banks are the Syrian subsidiaries of Jordan's Arab Bank, Lebanon's Banque Audi, Byblos Bank and Blom, as well as Qatar National Bank's operation in Damascus.
It is unclear how, or if, Mr Makhlouf can transfer the shares to Ramak Humanitarian given the asset seizure.
One company linked with Ramak Humanitarian, Rawafed Damascus, is a partner in a multibillion-dollar building project in Damascus.
The project has largely stopped because of EU sanctions imposed on the company and most of its shareholders in 2019.
Another subsidiary is a charity called Al Bustan, which distanced itself from Mr Makhlouf by announcing this week that it performs its "charitable and humanitarian work under the follow-up and supervision of the President of the republic".
Bankers say the seizure of some of the known assets in Mr Makhlouf's name is relatively insignificant compared with a huge fortune in a maze of front companies around the globe.
It was built largely by him and his father Mohammad, who is in Moscow. Mohammad is the brother of Bashar's late mother Anissa, who was the matriarch of the ruling family.
They say only Rami Makhlouf may know where all the money is, making his life invaluable to his new and bitter enemies, Mr Al Assad and his brother Maher, the de facto commander of the military.
The three men, until the rift with Mr Makhlouf started last year, formed a triumvirate that has ruled Syria since the death of Bashar's father Hafez Al Assad in 2000.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
RESULTS
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Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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