The Central Bank of Syria in Damascus' Sabaa Bahrat Square, June 17, 2020. (Credit: Louai Beshara/AFP)
A potential trial in France for former Syrian central bank governor Adib Mayaleh, accused of financing crimes linked to Bashar al-Assad's regime during the Syrian war, has become increasingly unlikely after a recent court ruling, a judicial source said Thursday. The Paris Court of Appeal’s investigating chamber confirmed Wednesday that Mayaleh would remain under "assisted witness" status.
The court also rejected requests from the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (Parquet National Antiterroriste, Pnat) for further investigations, including hearing witnesses such as former regime members, Syrian officials, journalists and experts.
A source close to the case said the Pnat had hoped to clarify the role of businessmen in financing Assad's regime. At this stage, Mayaleh cannot be referred for trial in an assize court.
When contacted, Mayaleh’s lawyer declined to comment. The Pnat suspects Mayaleh, who served as governor of the central bank from 2005 to 2016, of financing a regime accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity between 2011 and 2017.
Mayaleh, a French citizen since 1993, was initially indicted in December 2022 on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, laundering proceeds from these offenses and participating in a conspiracy to commit such crimes.
At the time, the specialized examining magistrate of the Crimes against Humanity Division of the Paris Judicial Court considered that there was serious or corroborating evidence against him. But in May 2024, the judge withdrew his indictment and placed him under the intermediate status of assisted witness. The Pnat appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal upheld it.
Mayaleh was the governor of the Central Bank of Syria from 2005 to 2016 and also Syria's economy and foreign trade minister until 2017. He is the sole defendant in this investigation. In June 2024, he filed a motion for nullity, arguing that he could not be prosecuted due to functional immunity, but the appeal court rejected this. He has appealed this ruling to the Court of Cassation, which is expected to examine his case in the coming months.
More than half a million people have been killed since the peaceful 2011 uprising against Assad escalated into a civil war, dividing Syria. On Dec. 8, Assad was ousted by an Islamist-led rebel coalition and fled to Russia.