The niece of Syrian ruler Bashar Al Assad has had thousands of pounds confiscated from her bank account by UK investigators over a suspected breach of sanctions.
On Tuesday, London's Westminster Magistrates Court ordered the forfeiture of the funds belonging to 22-year-old Aniseh Chawkat.
It follows an investigation by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) into deposits made into the account amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Over a 12 month period more than £150,000 (Dh701,641) was placed into the account in 56 transactions despite her having no identifiable sources of income.
It sparked fears by officials that the deposits were a way of circumventing EU financial sanctions designed to restrict the use and availability of Syrian regime funds.
Both Miss Chawkat’s mother, Bushra al-Assad (also known as Bushra Shawkat or Chawkat), and her uncle, Bashar Al Assad, are designated subjects of international sanctions.
Her father, Assef Shawkat, was Syrian deputy Minister of Defence between 2011 up until his death in 2012, and also subject to international sanctions.
Rachael Herbert, Head of Threat Response for the National Economic Crime Centre, said: “This case shows the disruptive value of proactively using asset denial to recover illicit finance. Account forfeiture is one of tools UK law enforcement can use in this area.”
Miss Chawkat had been a student studying in London at the time the transactions were made.
Officials discovered 56 deposits were paid into her account at various branches of Barclays bank across England between 2017-2018.
NCA inquiries found that she had rented a London flat for more than £60,000 per year (Dh280,656).
Her account was made subject to an Account Freezing Order in last November after the NCA informed Barclays that Miss Chawkat had family links to the Syrian regime.
In total, the remaining sum of £24,668.24 (Dh115,388) left in the account will now be taken by the UK authorities.
Rob MacArthur, from the NCA’s International Corruption Unit said: “Our investigation also gives some insight into the complexity of tackling illicit finance. Innocuous deposits into UK high street banks can ultimately be derived from wealth accumulated by individuals subject to international sanctions."
Barrister Zubair Ahmad QC, acting for Miss Chawkat told the court that the NCA’s application for forfeiture was not opposed and thus the money was seized by the state.
In March the EU added Syria’s interior minister and six other ministers to a sanctions blacklist for their role in what it called President Bashar Al Assad’s “violent repression” of civilians.
The ministers, who were appointed to Mr Al Assad’s government in November, have been barred from travelling to Europe and will have their assets frozen.
There are 277 people under EU sanctions for links to the Al Assad regime, as well as 72 entities.
EU sanctions have been in force since December 1, 2011, and are subjected to annual review.
