Enab Baladi – Wasim al-Adawi
The announcement of a financial settlement with Syrian businessman Mohammad Hamsho, who is linked to the Assad regime, sparked anger among supporters of the Syrian revolution, amid a lack of details about the settlement and what Hamsho provided in return.
A senior source at Syria’s National Commission for Combating Illicit Gain, which reached the settlement with Hamsho, said the commission has more than 900 wanted names, some of whom have applied for settlement.
Settlements will be concluded along the lines of the official settlement reached with Mohammad Hamsho, under the voluntary disclosure program the commission recently launched, aimed at achieving economic justice and ensuring transparency of assets and property held by businessmen suspected of having acquired wealth and interests through proximity to the former regime, according to the source.
The source, who asked not to be named for administrative reasons, said settlements with the Syrian businessmen Samer Foz and Wassim Qattan are being finalized by the commission, adding that each settlement will be announced once related procedures are completed.
Recovering billions
On the approximate overall scale of illicitly acquired funds by businessmen and businesswomen close to the former regime, and the amounts recovered, sources close to the commission told Enab Baladi that it recovered, for example, from Syrian businessman Mohammad Hamsho, assets and cash liquidity valued at about $800 million.
They said this figure covers only the money and assets recovered from Hamsho, without addressing those who fled and whose assets were fully seized by “the competent authorities” at the commission’s request.
This recovered amount from Hamsho alone raises initial estimates of the total funds recovered by the commission since its formation in May 2025 to more than several billions of US dollars.
Guarantees and penalties
In response to a question from Enab Baladi about guarantees offered by the commission to businessmen close to the former regime, the source said the commission does not provide, within a settlement, any guarantees against criminal or personal prosecution for those who sign, and the settlement only entails that the person will not be pursued financially in illicit gain cases.
The settlement is also conditional, the source said, on the businessman or businesswoman under financial investigation submitting full financial data inside and outside Syria. If it is proven that they attempted to conceal any of those assets or funds, the settlement is revoked, and the commission asks financial and judicial bodies to seize all property and pursue the person in court.
Purpose of the settlements
The source said the goal of the settlements is not only economic, but also largely aimed at dismantling the possibility of pooling illicitly acquired money to form gangs that could threaten Syrian society’s security.
This measure is recommended by the United Nations within anti-corruption frameworks and in addressing the outcomes of war economies in countries recently emerging from conflict, the same source said.
The voluntary disclosure program, as stated by the commission on its official website, is based on several key objectives, including:
Reintegrating money and economic activity linked to the former corrupt governing system, and the mechanisms used to achieve illicit gain, into the formal economy, through defined settlement measures and economic pardons under full institutional oversight. This is meant to correct financial pathways, recover funds, and redirect them toward state economic activity that supports economic stability, social peace, reconstruction, and sustainable development. Recovering public funds by reintroducing a large share of illicitly obtained money into the state’s economic cycle and settling it under approved legal frameworks. Dismantling the shadow economy and exposing networks of illicit finance tied to conflict economies and the overlap of money and power. Strengthening social peace and economic forgiveness through a disciplined economic pardon track that turns the page on the past without compromising the public interest. Reintegrating some cooperating businessmen and businesswomen into the formal economy under state oversight, ensuring the sustainability of their legitimate business activity.Governance and high-level oversight
The National Commission for Combating Illicit Gain in Syria operates according to the highest international standards in this field, the source said, and the settlement procedures and recovery of illicitly acquired funds are subject to strict, high-level governance.
The source said the commission is currently contracting with a well-known global company to audit its procedures, adding, “We will announce this agreement soon.”
The source added, “We greatly value having our work be transparent now and in the future, this is the commission’s duty, and therefore we will announce to everyone the agreements with the above-mentioned oversight body, to apply high-level governance to our procedures.”
The commission is keen, the source said, to align with UN standards in this area, particularly those of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “We have adopted their standards and experiences in many countries that went through the same experience in combating illicit gain,” the source added.
The settlement with businessman Hamsho
The National Commission for Combating Illicit Gain announced that it had concluded a settlement with Syrian businessman Mohammad Hamsho, linked to the deposed Assad regime, under the voluntary disclosure program it launched recently.
In a statement published on its official website on 7 January, the commission said the settlement came after extensive investigations and a comprehensive review of the assets and financial disclosures Hamsho submitted, as part of a program aimed at ensuring transparency of assets and property and achieving economic justice, especially regarding businessmen suspected of benefiting from their proximity to the former regime.
The voluntary disclosure program allows the settlement of legal and tax status “without prejudice to the state’s rights or departure from the legal framework,” and the commission said the settlement is granted to those who prove that their wealth was acquired through lawful means.
According to the statement, the program seeks to enhance transparency in the economic environment, encourage investment, and protect the national economy from manifestations of illicit gain, in addition to restoring the state’s financial rights. The commission said it will follow up on implementation “strictly,” and that any attempt to provide misleading information or evade disclosure will expose those involved to legal accountability.
The commission considered the completion of the settlement a “significant step” in the path of economic and legal reforms, paving the way for subsequent initiatives to strengthen integrity and transparency in Syria’s economy.
For his part, Mohammad Hamsho said in a Facebook post on 6 January that he had signed a “comprehensive agreement” with the new government, in line with the approved legal and official frameworks. He said the step comes as part of “organizing and regularizing his legal status and opening a new page,” without delving into debates related to previous phases.
Hamsho added that Syria “is heading toward a new stage titled hope and building the future,” pointing to the importance of cooperation between state institutions and the private sector in the “interest of the homeland and the people.”
The settlement announcement drew wide criticism from activists and on social media, particularly given Hamsho’s involvement in the war economy in destroyed towns in the Damascus countryside (Rural Damascus Governorate, around the capital). Activists and civil society actors also called for protests.
Who is Mohammad Hamsho
Mohammad Saber Hamsho is considered one of Syria’s leading businessmen, with interests in several sectors, including construction, telecommunications, information technology, engineering, and tourism.
He was born in Damascus in 1966. He studied electrical and electronic engineering at Damascus University and obtained an MBA in 2005 from the Higher Institute for Business Administration.
The US Treasury sanctioned Hamsho on 4 August 2011, indicating the sanctions were a “direct result of his actions.”
He was also sanctioned by the European Union. The EU imposed sanctions on him on 24 June 2011, temporarily lifted them in 2014, then returned him to the sanctions list in 2015, freezing his funds and again banning him from entering EU countries.
In 2020, he, along with some family members, was subjected to Caesar Act sanctions, most notably Soumaya Hamsho, Ahmad Saber Hamsho, Ali Mohammad Hamsho, and Amr Mohammad Hamsho, over his role as a front for Maher al-Assad, the brother of Syria’s former president, and for handling a number of his business interests.
In June 2020, the US State Department said that “the individuals and entities sanctioned by the US government today played an essential role in obstructing a peaceful political resolution to the conflict, while others helped commit or finance Assad regime atrocities against the Syrian people, and enriched themselves and their families.”
Who is Samer Foz
Samer Zuhair Foz is a Syrian businessman who was close to the inner circle of businessmen surrounding the deposed Bashar al-Assad regime. He is chairman of Aman Holding Group and Sorouh for Reconstruction, chief executive of Aman Holding, owner of Lana TV, Emaar al-Sham for Artistic Production, and Sharq Club Restaurant.
He is also a partner in the Four Seasons Hotel Damascus since 2018 and in M.I.N. Crystal Sugar since 2017, and he founded Foz Charity Association in 2015.
He is a co-founder of several companies specializing in investment, cement, and iron, and he is sanctioned by the US Treasury and the European Union.
Who is Wassim Qattan
Wassim Anwar Qattan is a Syrian businessman who was close to the former regime. He has been a co-founder and general manager of Murooj al-Yasmin LLC since 2018, owner of Larosa Furniture, Hot Bakery, Murooj al-Sham Group for Investment and Tourism, Jalaa Hotel, and a member of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce board since 9 October 2020.
He is a manager and co-founder of companies including Adam Trading and Investment, Nuqtat Taqatu’, al-Manzil al-Mithali for Investment, Avenue Trading and Contracting, T.W.A., and other multi-purpose companies.
He is also sanctioned by the US Treasury and the European Union.
Syrian state news agency SANA reported in January, quoting the head of the commission, Basil al-Suwaidan, that the commission has blocked all forms of fraud or extortion that some individuals might attempt by claiming they can facilitate settlements at the commission, noting this is not legally valid and not practically possible.
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