On Friday, the central leadership of the Arab Socialist Baath Party in the Syrian regime issued a statement expressing its rejection of what it described as an “infringement on the party’s status,” against the backdrop of reports that influential leaders and officials in the party were involved in cases of financial corruption and embezzlement worth billions of Syrian pounds.
Earlier on Friday, local media close to the regime reported that the Baath Party’s Party Inspection Committee was conducting a comprehensive review and scrutiny of the party’s central leadership after investigations revealed financial corruption and embezzlement worth billions of Syrian pounds, involving influential leaders.
While the Central Command statement did not deny the investigations into the aforementioned cases of corruption and embezzlement, it refused to “harm the reputation of the Baath Party and infringe on its position and honourable role in various aspects of Syrian life.”
A chance to undermine the party?
The statement, published by the regime’s news agency (SANA), said: “Some social media pages have reported over the past hours about audits and reviews of the party’s properties and investments during the previous central leadership’s tenure. Although the party’s leadership does not deny that it is currently taking such measures, it is worth recalling that it is unacceptable to rely on routine measures and turn them into a cheap opportunity to undermine the party’s reputation and its honourable role in various aspects of Syrian life.”
He claimed that “the Baath Party, as a broad and rooted institution in community life, will not be immune from individual mistakes and excesses. However, like all national institutions, it has a track record of positive and honourable achievements.”
The statement continued: “As long as the party practices scrutiny and accountability, why all this contrived fuss with its preconceived intention to personalize on the one hand, and the deliberate abuse of the party institution as a whole on the other? The strangest thing is that some pens and opinions are proactive in exposing errors or corruption.”
Blaming corruption on the “war”
The statement described critics of cases of corruption and embezzlement as “despicable exploiters who hide behind unclean and doubtful intentions as if there are those who thrive on the continuation of all the negative and corrupt manifestations that have worsened during the war years.”
The Central Command concluded its statement by stressing that “the party’s oversight and inspection committee is currently auditing the accounts, properties, and investments of the party in accordance with the provisions of the internal regulations, and in cooperation with the concerned official authorities and institutions,” according to the source.
The involvement of influential managers and leaders inside and outside the party
Sources familiar with the progress of the investigations, which began last month, confirmed the participation of the “party inspection committee and the Ministry of Interior” in the investigations. They added that influential managers in the leadership of the Baath Party were arrested, including the director of the financial office, the technical office, and the director of legal affairs.
The sources pointed out that “the investigations led to confessions implicating influential people both within and outside the party’s leadership, enabling the investigating parties to uncover financial corruption and the waste of public money estimated at tens of billions.”
The sources claimed that “hundreds of thousands of dollars were recovered immediately after the start of the investigations, while many corruption rings and settlement locations are still being counted and audited. These may be distributed between the party’s funds and deals outside party work that were made based on the authority of the party’s influencers.”
This article was translated and 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.
