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Freezing of "Sheikh Kar" Money Changer Zahir Sahloul’s Funds as Part of Financial Campaign Targeting Officials and Businessmen
A source speaking exclusively to al-Modon revealed that the Commission for Combating Illicit Enrichment has frozen businessman Zahir Yassar Sahloul’s movable and immovable assets as well as his bank accounts, as part of financial and judicial measures the authorities are taking against a number of businessmen and former officials.
According to the source, Sahloul has begun contacting lawyers to challenge the seizure orders and seek the lifting of restrictions on his assets and accounts. He bases his legal move on the claim that he left Syria in 2013 and cut ties with the Bashar al-Assad regime, which he considers grounds to request removal of the restrictions on his property.
Sahloul is known for his activity in the currency exchange sector and was nicknamed “Sheikh Kar the Money Changer” in Syria. He jointly owns Sahloul Exchange Company with his brothers. WikiLeaks published a classified U.S. embassy cable from 2008 that named four people said to have been relied upon by Bashar al-Assad to manage his assets and money inside and outside Syria; Sahloul was listed among them alongside Nabil al-Kazbari, Mohammad Makhlouf, and Fawaz al-Akhras.
Preventive Seizure and Travel Ban
The measures against Sahloul are part of a wider package of preventive seizures and travel bans that, according to the al-Modon source, have affected several businessmen, former officials, and economic figures in ongoing investigations. The Ministry of Finance, based on requests from the Commission for Combating Illicit Enrichment and relevant oversight bodies, executed preventive seizure and travel ban orders against Mohammad Ghazwan al-Masri, president of the Syrian Federation of Chambers of Industry, and members of his family.
The measures also reportedly targeted Nawaf al-Bashir, Farhan al-Marsoumi, and Madloul al-Aziz, with preventive seizure of their funds and travel bans until investigations and legal procedures are completed. The seizure orders extended to Nawaf al-Bashir’s children: Asaad, Hala, Laurence, Farah, Hanaa, Laith, Ashraf, Mishaal, Musab, Yasmin, Ali, and Basma.
The source added that the measures also affected former Syrian prime minister Wael al-Halqi, along with his wife and children. Similarly, preventive seizure and travel bans were imposed on Mohammad Fadi al-Dabbas and Tayseer Khaled Tar in ongoing financial and economic cases. Al-Dabbas formerly served as head of the Syrian Football Federation and currently serves as a deputy president; Tar is active in import and general trade.
The source emphasized that these measures are precautionary during investigations and do not in themselves prove the commission of offenses unless final judicial rulings are issued.
Judicial Chambers for Transitional Justice Pathway
Separately, a government source told al-Modon that the Ministry of Justice has allocated specialized judicial chambers for the transitional justice pathway in all courts of first instance across the provinces, aiming to organize the handling of cases related to violations and outstanding rights and to expedite judicial procedures.
Under the new mechanism, complainants can file directly with the public prosecution office responsible for the transitional justice pathway, after which files are referred to the examining judge to collect evidence, hear testimony, and complete legal procedures, and then forwarded to the referral judge and the competent criminal court.
These steps are part of a broader effort to reopen and review financial and judicial files dating to the previous phase of the regime, alongside measures intended to organize the transitional justice process and legal accountability in Syria.
