Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf, cousin of President Bashar al-Assad, accused the government on Sunday of seeking to destroy his business if he did not pay a controversial amount to the state.
Mr. Makhlouf, who is in Syria, is the head of a holding company, including the telephone company Syriatel, the country's leading mobile operator. The man who has long been the main financial supporter of the Assad regime, launched his new accusations in a video posted on Facebook, the third since April.
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In Damascus, the Syrian Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority reacted by accusing Syriatel of breaking its commitments and saying it would take all legal measures to recover "state rights" and " legal sums ” due by Syriatel and necessary to maintain its license.
A 51-year-old businessman, Mr. Makhlouf has been on the American sanctions list since 2008. In previous videos, he arrested Mr. Assad while spilling over on arrears claimed by the state and the measures intimidation of the security services.
On Sunday, he said that the authorities had demanded that Syriatel "pay its profits to the state, failing which we would be arrested" and the company's license revoked. "They want 120% of the profits."
Mr. Makhlouf's quarrel with power broke out in 2019, when he took control of his charity, Al-Boustan, before dissolving militias affiliated with him. In December, the government froze the assets of several businessmen for tax evasion and illegal enrichment during the war, including those of Mr. Makhlouf. At the end of April, he disputed the payment of more than 160 million euros in arrears demanded by the authorities.
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This amount is not a tax but "an amount imposed by a particular group without any right or recourse to the law" , he assured Sunday, indicating however to be ready to pay this sum by way of "support for the 'State".
In a statement issued by the official Sana agency, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said that "Syriatel must assume all the legal and operational consequences of its refusal to restore the rights of the state".