Assad airlifted $250m in cash from Syria to Russia over two years, FT reports

Syria’s Ousted Leader Flew $250 Million To Russia

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News DAMASCUS (Worthy News) – A quarter of a billion dollars was reportedly airlifted from Syria to Russia by Bashar al-Assad long before the autocratic Syrian leader was ousted by Islamic rebels this month. Over two years, Assad transported $250 million in cash to Moscow on 21 separate flights, according to an investigation by the Financial Times (FT) newspaper. The FT said that it had …

Bashar al-Assad sent two tons of cash worth close to three billion kroner to Russia before he was overthrown, the Financial Times states. - He has had several years to move the money safely, says former minister David Schenker. An international hunt is now underway for the ex-dictator's hidden money, writes the Wall Street Journal.

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has not fled to Russia empty-handed, escaping the fate of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi at the last minute. The jackpots with the money arrived much earlier.

Assads knarkhandel och miljardflykt – syriska ekonomin i spillror

Syriens ekonomi har varit i fritt fall – för Assad-regimen har knarksmuggling här varit en viktig finansiering. Samtidigt tros ex-diktatorn ha skeppat miljarder till Ryssland. – Tyvärr är det inte så ovanligt och vi har sett exempel på det tidigare, säger Mellanösternexperten Alexander Atarodi.

Assad had prepared his escape from Syria by purchasing homes in Moscow and by stashing away an enormous wealth along the way.

By Eyad Kourdi and Tim Lister, CNN A man who was recorded by CNN being released by the rebels from a Damascus prison was an ex-intelligence agent of the deposed Syrian regime, according to local residents, and not a common citizen who had been imprisoned, as he had claimed. CNN initially found the man while following clues about the missing American journalist Austin Tice. In a video report, chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward and he…