A Reuters investigation has revealed that the brother of Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, named Hazem al-Sharaa, is leading a secret committee tasked with restructuring the country’s economy. He is working closely with an Australian of Lebanese descent, Ibrahim Succarieh, known by his alias “Abu Mariam,” who is listed on Australia’s sanctions list for alleged ties to terrorism.
The committee operates in secrecy and has taken control of assets and companies worth over $1.6 billion, most of which were previously owned by businessmen connected to the former Assad regime. Instead of prosecuting these individuals or seizing their wealth outright, the committee is striking secret deals with them: immunity in exchange for partial surrender of assets.
Notable deals include:
Samer Foz: Surrendered 80% of his assets.
Mohammed Hamsho: Lost factories and industrial plants, including a steel mill accused of processing metals from destroyed cities.
Issam Shammout: Owner of Cham Wings airline, converted it into a new company called “Fly Cham,” retaining 55% ownership.
Committee leadership:
Hazem al-Sharaa: The president’s brother, formerly a PepsiCo manager in Erbil, Iraq.
Ibrahim Succarieh (Abu Mariam): An Australian with a family history of jihadist ties—one brother was a suicide bomber in Syria, and another was convicted of financing terrorism.
The committee is reportedly managed from Syria’s Central Bank, through another shadowy figure known as Abu Abdulrahman (real name: Mustafa Qadid), who acts as the top financial authority.
The committee initially operated out of the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus before moving to offices that previously belonged to Yasar Ibrahim, a top Assad-era economic adviser.