Syrian Finance Ministry seizes Rami Makhlouf’s assets after war of words

The Syrian Ministry of Finance has made a precautionary seizure of movable and immovable property belonging to businessman Rami Makhlouf, along with the assets of his wife and children.

According to the decision signed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, the decision number 1236 comes as a guarantee for the payment of the sums requested by the Ministry of Communications.

The authority had asked the cell phone giant in Syria for 233.8 billion pounds, and while MTN agreed to pay, SyriaTel refused, and its board chairman (Rami Makhlouf, cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) began a series of videos and blogs in a dispute with the authorities.

On Monday, the Ministry of Communications and Rami Makhlouf traded words on Facebook, with reports of SyriaTel officers leaving the company to avoid prosecution.

Makhlouf has requested that the money he pays to the Syrian Ministry of Communications go to the poor; however, the latter claims he owes money for his company’s license.