Businessman Close to Assad Regime Files Complaint Against Citizen and Contributes to His Arrest
March 24, 2025, 1:23 pm

Businessman Close to Assad Regime Files Complaint Against Citizen and Contributes to His Arrest

رجل أعمال مقرب من نظام الأسد يرفع دعوى ضد مواطن ويساهم في توقيفه

Businessman Fouad Assi, known for his closeness to the Assad regime, filed an official complaint against citizen Mohamed Hafiz and his son Jalal last Friday at the Al-Marja police station. This came after he encountered them on a street in Damascus, where they referred to him as "the remnants" and loudly questioned, "How can someone who was an arm of the regime and a financier of killing militias roam freely in Damascus?"

Following the complaint, the police detained Mohamed Hafiz for an hour, during which they forced him to delete the video that documented the incident and demanded that he issue a private and public apology to Fouad Assi through his son before he was released.

It is noteworthy that Brigadier General Walid Abdul Ali, the commander escorting Fouad Assi and the former head of the Criminal Security Branch in Damascus, who is accused of committing war crimes, was present during the incident in the city center. According to a private source for "Zaman Al-Wasl," Assi's influence instilled fear in witnesses, and the source reported that he had declared his intention to travel to Lebanon, although there was no confirmation regarding his actual departure.

Fouad Assi is considered one of the prominent financial figures linked to the regime, owning "Al-Haram" and "Light" exchange companies, and he has a direct connection to the plundering network run by Asma Assad through her intermediary, Yasar Ibrahim. Coinciding testimonies indicate that he was an informant for the Kafranbel branch and played a role in closing several exchange companies in favor of the regime, as well as the arrest of many employees in this sector.

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