The Syrian Ministry of Finance has made a precautionary seizure of the movable and immovable property belonging to businessman Rami Makhlouf, along with the assets of his wife and children.
According to the decision signed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Decision No. 1236 comes as a guarantee for the payment of the sums requested by the Ministry of Communications.
The authority had asked the Syrian cell phone giant for 233.8 billion Syrian pounds, and while MTN agreed to pay, SyriaTel refused, and its board chairman (Rami Makhlouf, cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) began a series of videos and blogs disputing the authorities.
On Monday, the Ministry of Communications and Rami Makhlouf traded words on Facebook, with reports of SyriaTel officers leaving the company to avoid prosecution.
Makhlouf has requested that the money he pays to the Syrian Ministry of Communications goes to the poor; however, the latter claims he owes money for his company’s license.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
