Russian site: Why Assad imposed house arrest on his cousin Rami Makhlouf?

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has imposed house arrest on his cousin and one of the richest Syrian businessmen, according to Russian media reports.

Experts' assessment of the reasons for the arrest of an influential person belonging to the Syrian president is similar to the size of Makhlouf. Igor Panvarov believes in a report on the Russian news website that Assad does not want Makhlouf to gain political status in the country.

Interestingly, according to the writer, the arrest of Makhlouf was carried out by direct presidential decree, and that he and his father, Mohamed Makhlouf and his two brothers, Ihab and Iyad, are in detention and cannot communicate with any media.

Rami Makhlouf is not only known for his great entrepreneurial activity, but also for his significant political influence in areas controlled by government forces. He also owns dozens of companies in Syria and has a stake in Syriatel, Syria's largest mobile phone company.

Earlier, information emerged accusing Rami Makhlouf of fraud inside the Commercial Bank of Syria, as well as accusing him of smuggling tens of billions of dollars. These actions against Makhlouf also coincided with a wave of interrogations of businessmen and other personalities.

He explained that the Anti-Money Laundering Committee, chaired by Asma al-Assad, has started to investigate 28 businessmen, including Assad's cousin Dureid al-Assad, along with prominent businessman Mohammed Saber Hamsho and a member of the Jaber family.

According to "News Re", some experts attributed the arrests to the pursuit of a large-scale redistribution of spheres of influence within the Assad area. It is not excluded, according to the writer - that Assad decided to eliminate a potential competitor for power.

The common factor among all Syrian businessmen currently under house arrest is that they have been involved in the creation and financing of local militias throughout the civil conflict inside Syria.

It is noteworthy in this context that some irregular units began to challenge government forces, especially within the cities of Latakia and Hama.

Continued arrests
According to Panvarov, arrests of Syrian businessmen are unlikely to stop until the fate of Idlib province, which is still under the control of opposition forces, is determined.

The writer attributed to some observers that the reason for these arrests could be a mere maneuver for Assad to replace Syrian businessmen with others, especially since most of those placed in detention are included in the lists of people who have been imposed by Western countries a series of sanctions.

The report cites informed sources that the conflict between Assad and Makhlouf is due to the fact that the latter refused to give up the several billion dollars Assad needs to pay debts to Russia, especially since the Kremlin is demanding to pay part of it before the end of this fall.

In addition, sources said that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu personally contacted Assad, asking him to pay three billion dollars in the near future.

The author explained that Assad tried to bypass the Russian Defense Ministry and talk directly to the Kremlin asking for an additional deadline, but some sources confirm that he did not get what he wanted, where the Russian side replied, "The wealth of your cousin exceeds three billion dollars."

According to opposition and pro-government alike, at the end of last month, Assad was offered bank statements and documents proving Makhlouf's ability to pay Assad's financial obligations.