Samer Foz; An Economic ‘Octopus’ Making Enormous Fortunes from Syria’s War

The name of the Syrian businessman Samer Foz returned to the forefront again; he is residing in the Emirates, and is considered the most prominent economic arm supporting President Bashar al-Assad, and that was after the decision to remove his two companies from US sanctions, “International General Trading” and “Silver Bean”.

The US Treasury announced, through a statement, on June 10, 2021, that it had removed two companies from the “Foz” companies from the sanctions list, after two and a half years of imposing it on them, noting that the sanctions imposed on the two companies are no longer useful”.

 

“The Oligarch”

The US Treasury described Samer Foz (48-year-old) in its statement, as the “oligarch” businessman (Minority rule), who dominates all subjects, and who is able to impose its influence on national politics.

It pointed out that Foz, his relatives, and his business empire, took advantage of the Syrian conflict to establish a profitable project, directly supporting the “murderous” Assad Regime, and building luxury projects on the stolen land from those fleeing its brutality.

The US Treasury statement added: “Foz benefited greatly from the reconstruction efforts in Syria, exploitation of the lands seized by the Assad Regime from the people, and he was trying to recruit foreign investors for reconstruction projects”.

In 2019, the US Treasury imposed sanctions that included all companies and assets owned by “Foz”, including “Aman Holding”, because of the “exploitation of the international financial system outside Syria”, and its involvement in supporting and financing the Syrian Regime.

But the US government’s decision to remove sanctions against the prominent Syrian businessman, it pushed 3 Republican congressmen to demand the US President's assistant to hand over internal documents related to his decision to remove sanctions from companies linked to “Foz”.

In 2018, Foz made several visits to meet businessmen residing in Europe to convince them of the need to return to his country, he also participated in several meetings with sympathizers of the Syrian opposition, to answer the criticisms leveled against him regarding his project “Marota City”.

At the end of January 2019, the name of Foz was registered - based on a French initiative - on the European Union's list of convicted Syrians, where Brussels accuses Foz of financing the Syrian Regime.

 

Makhlouf Alternative

Foz was born in 1973 in a Sunni house in Latakia, and his father was a pharmacist, then he studied at the American University in Paris in the early nineties, he also took courses at Boston and San Diego universities in the United States.

After his return to Syria, Foz Company expanded its business by importing agricultural machinery and cement, but it did not grow strongly because of “competition”, however that changed with the outbreak of the revolution in 2011, after that, he found the opportunity taking advantage of the businessmen's exit from Syria.

He obtained Turkish citizenship by setting up projects there, he managed to evade a mysterious murder case of a Ukrainian of Egyptian origin, he had entered into a business dispute with him for millions of dollars.

With the sanctions imposed on the Syrian Regime, including Assad's man, Rami Makhlouf, the name of Foz did not appear, but after a while, European Union countries began discussing imposing sanctions on him, because of his proximity to the Regime.

The Syrian political analyst, Ayman Abdel Nour, said during press statements on May 16, 2020, “Foz is unable to replace Makhlouf, and he cannot compete with him despite this rise”.

Among the reasons mentioned by Abdel Nour, “the economic power enjoyed by the Makhlouf family compared to Foz”, Rami and his family have been collecting money from deals for nearly 40 years, and they have strong influence, while Foz did not appear on the scene only a few years ago.

Abdel Nour pointed out that “the sectors in which Makhlouf works generate daily profits, while the sectors on which Foz depends are profitable, but it is not continuous and not large in size compared to Makhlouf's companies”.

Economic Empire

On June 13, 2019, the British newspaper, “The Times”, published a report in which it said that “a prominent Syrian businessman - subject to international sanctions for his support of the Assad Regime - controls a TV station by a company in London”.

The report indicated that Samer Foz runs a British company, which acts as his agent, but it is reported that he also runs a television station and an advertising website through two other companies.

“The Times” indicated that Foz made a fortune through wheat deals between the Assad Regime and the Kurds, through real estate projects on lands taken from families who fled the war.

A report from the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee described the sanctions imposed on Foz as “incoherent”, as Foz continues to run his business despite the European sanctions and travel ban imposed on him since January 2019.

According to “The Times”, Foz revealed in an interview with the newspaper in 2018, his desire to invest in Britain, presenting himself in the British Chamber of Commerce as “a Turkish investor” residing in Turkey, his company is registered under a British address and owned by a British legal group called “Moorcroft”.

The newspaper pointed out that a businessman named Jaafar Sharif Al-Fadl (73-year-old) is involved in managing the company, it explained that he resides in Lebanon and owns the “Lana TV” station and the “Al-Minbar” channel, it is not subject to any sanctions, but rather is used as a website to provide economic news that supports the Assad Regime.

The US government says that “the Foz family benefits from the transfer and sale of Iranian oil to Syria through a Lebanese company, this is a violation of the sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran”.

The United States indicated that Foz holds a passport to the island of Saint Kitts and Nevis, which can be obtained for an investment of $150,000, the holder of this passport has the right to enter European countries and the United States without the need to obtain a visa, according to the report.

In July 2018, the American newspaper “Financial Times” highlighted Samer Foz, after he bought the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal's stake in the “Four Seasons” hotel in the Syrian capital, Damascus, the most famous and largest branch of the famous hotel along the Middle East and North Africa.

It mentioned that Foz is one of the business giants, who has always excelled in working in the shadows, before recent media reports revealed that he is standing on one of the largest economic empires in Syria.

Samer Foz's economic empire was considered one of the main channels of recovery that contributed to easing the grip of the international economic siege on the Syrian Regime, especially after the sanctions that affected a large number of personalities supporting it, and at a time when the markets were suffering from a shortage of goods and a rise in prices.