Assad gave $250 million to Russia to save the government, report reveals

It has been almost 10 days since the Bashar al-Assad government was ousted in Syria, meanwhile, a big revelation has been made. Russia did not only help Bashar al-Assad in Syria with military and strategic bases, but the Assad government paid a huge amount for this.

According to a Financial Times report, the Assad government transferred about $250 million (about Rs 2120 crore) in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019 during the civil war. Dollars and euros were used to transfer this amount, while Syria itself was struggling with a foreign currency crisis during this time.

2 tons of cash were sent to Moscow via flight!

According to a report by The Financial Times, records show that the Syrian Central Bank facilitated the movement of two tonnes of cash on a flight to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport.

This cash fund was deposited in the Russian Financial Corporation Bank (RFK), a lending bank controlled by the state-owned arms export company Rosoboronexport. According to the report, this cash transfer was done at a time when Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria was completely dependent on Russian military aid.

250 million dollars given through 21 flights

After looking at the records, the Financial Times has reported that the Assad government has sent several flights carrying cash to Russia. For example, on May 13, 2019, a plane reached Moscow carrying $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in cash.

In February 2019, the Syrian Central Bank sent 20 million euros (about Rs 178 crore) to Moscow via plane. Between March 2018 and September 2019, a total of 250 million dollars (about Rs 2120 crore) were sent via 21 flights. However, before this transaction, Syria had never sent cash to Russia during the civil war that began in 2011.

Big disclosure based on Russian documents

According to some Russian documents obtained by the Financial Times, there has been a steady flow of exports from Syria during this period. This includes shipments of some secret documents, new Syrian banknotes printed by Syria's state-owned printing company Goznak, and consignments related to military component replacements for the Syrian army.