President Bashar Al Assad upon inheriting power in July 2000, which also marked the rise of his tycoon cousin, Rami Makhlouf. AFP
President Bashar Al Assad upon inheriting power in July 2000, which also marked the rise of his tycoon cousin, Rami Makhlouf. AFP
President Bashar Al Assad upon inheriting power in July 2000, which also marked the rise of his tycoon cousin, Rami Makhlouf. AFP
President Bashar Al Assad upon inheriting power in July 2000, which also marked the rise of his tycoon cousin, Rami Makhlouf. AFP

Rami Makhlouf: Tycoon warns of ‘earthquake’ if he is driven from Syrian business scene


Khaled Yacoub Oweis
  • English
  • Arabic

The tycoon cousin of President Bashar Al Assad has warned Syria’s small but powerful Alawite community it could suffer what he described as an earthquake without him at its business helm.

In the second month of a public spectacle centring on the wealth of the inner circle, Rami Makhlouf escalated his verbal response to an official seizure of his assets.

The authorities are seeking to strip Mr Makhlouf of telecom operator Syriatel, the country’s largest company, along with the rest of his empire. Regional bankers say his fortune also comprises shares of vast assets he manages on behalf of the ruling Assad family through frontmen and business networks.

In his latest Facebook pronouncement this week, Mr Makhlouf said that 70 per cent of the shareholder profit of Syriatel went to “acts of charity” in the past decade.

“Curse me if there will be no divine intervention to stop this farce and shake the earth from underneath the feet of the oppressors,” Mr Makhlouf wrote on Facebook on Monday.

“You will be enamoured with his might and majesty,” Mr Makhlouf said, using religious terminology more familiar to Alawites than to the country’s Sunni-majority population.

“No one can prevent such deeds from reaching their deserving recipients,” he said.

The continued, and widely followed, statements by Mr Makhlouf, ultimately challenging Mr Assad, prompted some political commentators to suggest he is enjoying de facto Russian protection.

Mr Makhlouf’s father, the oligarch Mohammad Makhlouf, has been reportedly living in Moscow for several years. Russia intervened militarily in Syria to prop up the regime in late 2015.

Rami, 50, the maternal cousin of Mr Assad and his brother Maher Al Assad, has not disclosed where he is. Maher heads the army’s elite Fourth Mechanised Division, which operates its own intelligence network.

Rami Makhlouf has been singling out the Alawite-dominated security apparatus for acting against him, under orders from someone he did not name, although he said he has been the main financier of the same security operatives seeking his downfall.

Mr Makhlouf said on Monday that “an invisible hand with super powers that lets some people violate private property and threaten serious measures” would act against his businesses if he “does not submit”.

He said that in the past month the authorities expanded a tax dispute with Syriatel, demanding half of the company’s revenue, and that Syriatel’s managers were pressured through arrests and other means to stop communicating with him. Some of Mr Makhlouf’s personal assets were also seized.

The billionaire termed the measures being taken against Syriatel and himself as a “clear violation” of property rights he said were guaranteed under Syria’s paper constitution.

But Syriatel, which Mr Makhlouf set up two decades ago, is one of many monopolies he obtained since Bashar Al Assad inherited power in 2000 from his late father, Hafez.

Two prominent members of the intelligentsia, Aref Dalila and Riad Seif, spoke out at the time Mr Makhlouf and his patronage network were undermining the rule of law. The authorities jailed the two men for a total of 12 years for “undermining national morale”.

A little about CVRL

Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.

One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases. 

The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery. 

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
UFC%20in%20Abu%20Dhabi
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The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic

Power: 375bhp

Torque: 520Nm

Price: Dh332,800

On sale: now

Results

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 1,000m, Winner: Hazeem Al Raed, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)

5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 85,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: Ghazwan Al Khalediah, Hugo Lebouc, Helal Al Alawi

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m, Winner: Dinar Al Khalediah, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.

6.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Faith And Fortune, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Only Smoke, Bernardo Pinheiro, Abdallah Al Hammadi.

7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: AF Ramz, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi.

8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mass, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.

How to help

Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.

Account name: Dar Al Ber Society

Account Number: 11 530 734

IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734

Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae

SQUADS

India
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur

New Zealand
Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, George Worker, Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult

New Zealand squad

Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner

Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle

Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)

NEW%20PRICING%20SCHEME%20FOR%20APPLE%20MUSIC%2C%20TV%2B%20AND%20ONE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20Music%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20individual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2410.99%20(from%20%249.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20family%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2416.99%20(from%20%2414.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EIndividual%20annual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24109%20(from%20%2499)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20TV%2B%3Cbr%3EMonthly%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%246.99%20(from%20%244.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EAnnual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2469%20(from%20%2449.99)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20One%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20individual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2416.95%20(from%20%2414.95)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20family%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2422.95%20(from%20%2419.95)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20premier%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2432.95%20(from%20%2429.95)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

ENGLAND SQUAD

Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad

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