Financial Flight of Assets
The recent and rapid developments in Syria and the exit of the ruling Assad family have raised concern regarding the Assad family's significant wealth and assets in Syria and also elsewhere globally. With Assad currently exiled in Russia (a sanctioned country), it is likely that given the fall of the Assad government, whatever assets they held will be transferred to new ownership structures closer to Russia or European jurisdictions. The risk is that such assets could be used for terrorist financing (TF) or proliferation financing (PF) rather than being utilised by a new Syrian government to help rebuild the country.
Advice for the Jersey Financial Services industry
Please continue to actively monitor your direct and indirect financial crime risks in relation to activity that may have associated touchpoints. In particular:
- ⚠️ Suspicious transactions or patterns that might be connected with Assad or the Assad regime.
- ⚠️ Critically assess any transactions or patterns connected to Syria, Syrian nationals, connected persons, Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), and/or the broader region.
- ⚠️ Review information or activities that may indicate the movement of Syrian government assets or PEP assets of individuals connected to the Assad regime.
Should you or your business receive enquiries about the Assad regime or Syrian government assets, please email the FIU at fiu.admin@jersey.police.je. In addition, the Jersey Financial Services industry should remain vigilant to the possible risks of unusual client behaviour related to this period of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and broader global conflicts. Any activity, both existing client and prospective in nature, that you suspect as suspicious should be reported to us via the FIU PolSAR portal: go.fiu.je/SAR.