The Hamsho settlement: asset recovery without accountability?

Supported by independent sources

The EU sanctioned Hamsho in May 2011 and the United States in August 2011; the U.S. Treasury said he “earned his fortune through his connections to regime insiders” and had cast his lot with Bashar and Maher al-Assad. In June 2020 he and members of his family were also sanctioned under the U.S. Caesar Act. ² He remains on the U.S., UK and EU sanctions lists (checked October 2026). ^{3 4 5}

According to Syria Direct, citing a 2020 study, during the war he took possession of iron and metal looted by the former government’s forces from areas such as Yarmouk camp and al-Hajar al-Aswad. ²

Supported by independent sources

• The settlement was concluded under a six-month voluntary disclosure programme the committee launched at the end of December 2025, about a week before the deal was announced. ^{2 6}
• A committee source told al-Thawra it followed “extensive investigations” of Hamsho’s assets and financial declarations; the programme, the source said, regularises the status of those whose wealth is shown to be lawfully acquired and recovers the state’s rights. ¹
• No amount was published. Enab Baladi, citing unnamed sources close to the committee, estimated the funds and assets recovered at about $800 million. ²
• Hamsho said he had signed a comprehensive agreement “within the bounds of legal procedure” and was opening “a new chapter”. ^{2 6}

Supported by independent sources

Demonstrators protested outside the committee’s headquarters in Damascus and in Jobar, Daraya and al-Qaboun. On 8 January 2026 the National Commission for Transitional Justice said there is “no amnesty” for anyone who committed, financed or instigated serious violations. ^{2 7}

The Syrian Legal Development Programme argues that the committee has no judicial authority under its founding decree, that the settlement was concluded outside the courts and pre-empts criminal accountability, and that any recovered assets should be transparently linked to reparations for victims. ⁷

Supported by independent sources

On 17 June 2026 security forces detained the British-Syrian activist Hassan Akkad in Damascus; he was released on 21 June. ⁸ His online campaign “Give Us the Money You Owe” pressed businessmen and media figures to honour public pledges, and had targeted brands linked to Hamsho. ^{9 10}

Damascus Public Prosecutor Hussam Khattab said the arrest followed a defamation complaint filed on 3 June by the journalist Mousa al-Omar under the cybercrime law, that Akkad had been summoned several times without appearing, and that a search-and-locate warrant was issued for him before he was brought in. Al-Omar withdrew his complaint. ^{11 10} (Hussam Khattab is not to be confused with Interior Minister Anas Khattab.)

Akkad says he was detained by an armed plainclothes patrol that refused to show identification or a warrant or to let him call a lawyer, and that two further lawsuits filed through companies linked to Hamsho remain pending; the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre also reports complaints by Hamsho-linked companies. ^{10 9}

The Syrian Network for Human Rights and the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre called for a review of Cybercrime Law No. 20 of 2022, an Assad-era law whose broad terms, they say, can be used against peaceful expression. ^{8 9}