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FALL OF ASSAD

Syrian central bank freezes accounts of collaborators of former Syrian regime


Syrian central bank freezes accounts of collaborators of former Syrian regime

The headquarters of the Syrian Central Bank in Damascus, Dec. 30, 2024. (Credit: AFP)

The Central Bank of Syria announced Wednesday that it will freeze all bank accounts of people and companies linked to the Assad regime, which was overthrown on Dec. 8, 2024, by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to an official decision dated Jan. 22, 2025, and signed by Maysaa Sabrine, the governor appointed by the Islamist coalition that led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December.

This decision also includes all accounts belonging to Katerji Group, an investment company based in Damascus that the Syrian central bank has also linked to the regime, the text specifies. "Withdrawal and transfer activities are thus suspended, and any banking activity will require prior approval from the Central Bank, provided that the concerned parties inform the bank of the amounts contained in the accounts and provide personal information within three working days following the submission of the request," it adds.

While the Central Bank of Syria does not provide further details on the Katerji Group in its statement, it is potentially the one owned by Bara' Katerji, a Syrian businessman who managed some of the Assad clan's shady dealings and was killed in July in an Israeli strike at the Lebanese-Syrian border.

Bara' and his brother Houssam Katerji had led the largest smuggling network of crude oil, fuel oil, and gasoline from areas controlled by the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to the areas managed by regime forces.

In the wake of the fall of Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, the Syrian central bank stated that depositors' funds in the country's banks were "safe" following the capture of the capital by militants and amid chaotic scenes near some official institutions.

The Central Bank of Syria announced Wednesday that it will freeze all bank accounts of people and companies linked to the Assad regime, which was overthrown on Dec. 8, 2024, by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to an official decision dated Jan. 22, 2025, and signed by Maysaa Sabrine, the governor appointed by the Islamist coalition that led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad in...