What happened just 4 days before the fall of the Assad regime?

Just 4 days before the fall of the regime of the former Syrian president, a plane took off from Damascus International Airport with millions on board towards Russia.

However, this trip was not an orphan, as it was preceded by many other trips during Bashar al-Assad’s rule of the country. This is what a secret document revealed about huge money smuggling operations via Syrian Airlines to Moscow, in one of the most mysterious and corrupt financial transfer operations in which the former Syrian regime was involved, according to what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

From the end of 2020 until mid-2024, Syrian Airlines was operating a weekly flight to Moscow, specifically to Vnukova Airport, carrying bags full of money, worth an average of 20 million US dollars.

According to a leaked secret document obtained by the Observatory from parties close to Syrian Airlines and Damascus Airport Security, under the title of an official letter labeled confidential, this money was transferred under the direct supervision of Air Force Intelligence, in a highly secret operation.

The bags containing the money were transported directly from the Central Bank of Syria to a security truck, which was then transported to the bottom of the plane upon its arrival at the airport.

These bags were carried separately from passengers’ luggage, under strict security procedures.

To ensure the confidentiality of the process, the bags were required to be loaded first before any other shipments, and none of the employees or passengers were allowed to inquire about their contents. Rather, everyone was warned not to interfere or ask about the contents of the bags and their destination.

For his part, a Syrian source in Russia who follows the regime’s movements and investments there confirmed that “the content of the document is known, and perhaps what is new is the revelation of the official document itself,” according to what was reported by Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

He also explained that some loyal figures were placed on the international sanctions list, based on this information, especially businessmen loyal to the regime, such as Mudalal Khoury.

He pointed out that the operations were actually taking place via Syrian aviation to Vnukova Airport, and that they were in dozens, and each flight was full of hard currencies. The dollar and the euro, adding that the euro coins were specifically of the 500 denomination.

In addition, he revealed that “the bags were transported from this airport directly to the regime’s embassy in Moscow, and from there they were distributed to businessmen affiliated with the regime, who invested them in banks and in purchasing real estate and shops.” From this money, companies were established in Russia and Belarus.”

He stressed that “all shipments were taking place under the supervision of Muhammad Makhlouf, Bashar al-Assad’s uncle,” pointing out that Makhlouf was renting an entire floor in the most luxurious hotel in Moscow called (Ukraine Hotel), which is a large, beautiful and heritage hotel since the era of Stalin.