The Hunt for Assad’s Millions: Can Damascus Reclaim Syria’s Frozen Funds?

In a concrete move, the new Syrian state has launched a global search for billions in cash and assets looted over the years by Bashar al-Assad’s family and inner circle, hidden across multiple countries through secretive or official channels and later frozen after the revolution.

Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh announced that the bank will begin international efforts to recover the frozen funds, following the lifting of U.S. and European sanctions on Syria. He noted that “the amounts may not be large, but reclaiming them is a necessary step.”

Recovering the Funds

In an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher in early July 2025, Central Bank Husrieh said the lifting of sanctions will allow Syria to reconnect directly with the global SWIFT financial system.

He emphasized that the removal of sanctions will contribute to stabilizing the Syrian pound against foreign currencies, noting that the Central Bank is now working to encourage local banks to establish agreements with international companies.

The exact size of the fortune held by Bashar al-Assad and his family—who have ruled Syria since his father Hafez seized power in a 1971 military coup—remains unknown.

Since then, the Assad family has entrenched itself in power, controlling the Syrian economy by funneling the country’s resources into its private wealth, expanding businesses and projects through loyal intermediaries.

The Syrian revolution, which erupted in March 2011, prompted Western governments to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in Syrian assets. However, the precise amount and location of those funds remain unclear, creating major obstacles for the new state in its effort to recover the stolen wealth.

Estimates suggest Bashar al-Assad’s net worth could be around $2 billion, though the actual figure may be far higher.

If reclaimed, this vast sum could ease the burden on Syria’s depleted Ministry of Finance and Central Bank—both tasked with rebuilding a shattered economy in which 90% of the population lives below the poverty line, funding is scarce, and the treasury is nearly empty.

Assad fled Damascus on December 8, 2024, leaving behind devastated infrastructure, ruined neighborhoods, and an economy in collapse.

After Assad’s fall, authorities found roughly 26 tons of gold in the vaults of the Central Bank—worth around $2.2 billion at current market prices—the same amount that was held when the revolution began in 2011.

Syrian sources stated that around $200 million remained in the Central Bank’s reserves at that time, as per Reuters.

In 2010, before the uprising, the International Monetary Fund estimated Syria’s foreign currency reserves at $18.5 billion.

A 2022 report by the U.S. State Department estimated that companies and assets linked to the Assad family were worth roughly $12 billion.

According to various media reports—including one by the Financial Times—the deposed Assad regime transferred around $250 million in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019.

The April 2025 edition of The Syria Report estimated that approximately £163.2 million (around $205.76 million) in frozen assets remain in the United Kingdom.

The new Syrian government says it expects to recover up to $400 million in frozen overseas assets, which would help fund critical reforms—including a 400% wage increase for some public sector workers.

One week after Assad’s fall, the Swiss government announced that it holds approximately 99 million Swiss francs (about $112 million) in frozen Syrian assets, most of which have been blocked for years.

Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said the bulk of these funds were frozen after the country adopted EU sanctions on Syria in May 2011.

Zurich-based newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung previously reported that Swiss financial institutions had held up to 130 million Swiss francs (about $147 million) in frozen Syrian assets.

Legal Framework

Despite the fall of the regime, many believe that Syria’s former dictator looted billions of dollars from the country’s economy. Experts suggest Assad spent years preparing for his escape, concealing vast sums of money and assets.

The Assad family owns properties in Dubai, Moscow, and London, and holds dozens of secret bank accounts.

For example, British media reported that when the Syrian uprising began, UK authorities froze an HSBC bank account in London belonging to Bashar al-Assad, which contained £40 million (about $50 million).

Following his escape to Russia, Russian journalists revealed that the Assad family purchased at least 19 apartments across Moscow over time. The average price for an apartment in Moscow City Towers was about $2 million at the time.

In 2017, authorities in Spain and France seized assets worth approximately €600 million belonging to Bashar’s uncle, Rifaat al-Assad—nicknamed “the Butcher of Hama”—including hotels, restaurants, and other properties.

According to numerous experts and observers, the new Syrian state’s efforts to “chase Assad’s millions” will be anything but easy.

Still, the European Union and Switzerland have asset recovery frameworks in place that provide a legal basis for freezing and repurposing illicit assets.

Hussein al-Masri, the former Minister of Finance and Economy in the now-dissolved Syrian interim government (aligned with the opposition), said “the process of locating and recovering frozen funds abroad, which the Assad regime accumulated over decades, is no easy task—especially given estimates that range from $1 billion to $12 billion.”

“The difficulty stems from the Assad regime’s use of non-sanctioned companies and individuals to manage and manipulate these assets,” he told Al-Estitklal.

“At this early stage in Syria’s transition, it's crucial to begin by identifying recoverable funds, gathering documentation and evidence, and presenting these to the relevant countries to prove the money was stolen from the Syrian people.”

“These funds were transferred illegally under the supervision of the deposed regime,” he said, “and legal proceedings must begin with those states to bring the money back to Syria’s treasury.”

“Funds registered under Bashar and his wife will be easier to recover, while other looted assets accumulated over decades—especially those held in countries that supported Assad, like Russia—will require more complex legal mechanisms, including efforts to recover gold smuggled abroad,” al-Masri added.

He also noted the importance of focusing on recovering public assets held by key figures in the former regime.

A Global Hunt

Numerous banks around the world may hold information about the billions looted by the Assad family. Damascus can file legal requests with jurisdictions suspected of hosting regime-linked Syrian assets.

Years of U.S. and EU sanctions have pushed Assad’s business network to conceal wealth through offshore tax havens—making recovery even more complicated, as investigators must first obtain freeze orders, then pursue lengthy legal proceedings to return the assets.

“The ruling family was as much an expert in criminal violence as it was in financial crime,” Toby Cadman, a London-based human-rights lawyer with Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers, who has investigated Assad’s assets told WSJ.

“There will be a hunt for the regime’s assets internationally,” Andrew Tabler, a former White House official who identified assets of Assad family members through work on U.S. sanctions, also told WSJ. “They had a lot of time before the revolution to wash their money. They always had a Plan B and are now well equipped for exile.”

Recovering Syria’s stolen assets will also require support from the UN Sanctions Committee, which can process formal requests for asset return.

Experts argue that frozen Assad assets could be redirected to international compensation programs to support rebuilding efforts and aid UN agencies still operating inside Syria.

Observers believe Russia is likely the top destination for looted Syrian funds, especially as Bashar’s brother Maher—commander of the notorious 4th Division—fled to Moscow, where he reportedly controls major business assets.

Many members of the Makhlouf family—Bashar’s maternal relatives—also reside in Russia, with large bank balances in Moscow.

A Times report from 2020 estimated that $40 million had been converted into real estate in luxury Moscow skyscrapers linked to the Makhloufs.

Rami Makhlouf, Bashar’s cousin, was once considered the richest man in Syria after the president himself. His fortune was estimated between $5 billion and $10 billion before a dramatic fallout with Bashar in 2020 led to his marginalization.