Economic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat Saturday that the Syrian government decided to grant the duty-free market operating leases to Ehab Makhlouf and a Kuwaiti businessman residing outside his country, after terminating the contract with his brother, Rami Makhlouf, also the cousin of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The sources said the Syrian Foreign Ministry received the decision granting the contracts to operate and manage the duty-free markets across the country to Ehab Makhlouf and his Kuwaiti partner, who have politically supported the Syrian regime in the past years.
On his Facebook page, Ehab had announced his resignation from the post of the vice-chairman of Syrian mobile phone company Syriatel, after disputes with his brother, Rami, concerning the latter’s behavior.
“The companies of the entire world cannot shake my loyalty to the leadership of Assad,” he wrote.
In response to Ehab’s resignation, Rami appointed his son, Ali, to replace his brother before a Syrian court imposed an official receiver on “Syriatel.”
Last June, Syria's government announced the termination of duty-free contracts with companies affiliated with Rami Makhlouf as part of an ongoing dispute between the two men.
The economy ministry said contracts had been dropped to manage and operate duty-free markets across Syria, including at Damascus airport and border posts with Lebanon and Jordan.
Also, Syrian intelligence arrested last month more than 15 officers in Damascus for their association with Rami Makhlouf, who has dramatically fallen from grace with the regime.
The businessman has been embroiled in a power struggle with the state since 2019, when authorities seized control of his charity, al-Bustan, and dissolved militias affiliated to him.
In a bid to replenish state coffers, the government in May ordered the seizure of assets from Makhlouf and his family. Days later, Syria's justice ministry announced a travel ban on the tycoon.
The government has justified its latest measures by claiming Makhlouf’s Syriatel telecommunication company owes it money, including outstanding fees for maintaining its operating license. But in a series of videos, Makhlouf disputed such claims, saying some in power were seeking to overthrow him and reap a cut of the company's profits.
