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Syrian government freezes assets of Assad cousin

The move to seize the assets of the businessman is the latest in a dispute that began to heat up late last year.
A woman watches the Facebook video of Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf on her mobile in Syria's capital Damascus, on May 11, 2020. - Syria's top tycoon publicly airing his grievances has revealed a power struggle within the ruling family as it tries to cement its power after nine years of war, analysts say. After years of staying out of the limelight, business magnate Rami Makhlouf this month in two videos on Facebook laid bare his struggles with the regime headed by his first cousin President Bashar al-Ass

The Syrian government ordered the assets of President Bashar al-Assad’s cousin, Rami Makhlouf, to be frozen in the latest episode of the regime’s attempt to isolate the business magnate.

A Syrian Finance Ministry document posted online ordered a “precautionary hold” on Makhlouf’s assets, as well as those of his immediate family.

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