Business
Supported by independent sources
Born in Damascus in 1984 and holding a diploma in financial management, al-Masri founded the Damasco Group in Damascus in 2004. It opened a branch in Iraq in 2008, moved to the UAE in 2011 and opened an office in Turkey in 2017. Its activities include stock and currency exchange, money transfers and trade in food, fuel and metals, as well as relief projects for Syrian refugees in Turkey. 1 2 3
Arrest in the UAE (2019)
Supported by independent sources
The UAE detained him in November 2019. Shaam Network obtained a memorandum from the Assad government’s criminal security department asking the interior ministries of several Arab states to arrest and extradite him for financing terrorism; sources quoted by Shaam and by Zaman al-Wasl said the move was pushed by the pro-Assad businessman Samer Foz. 2 1 The UAE did not hand him over to Damascus. 4
Return with Ahmed al-Sharaa (2025)
Supported by independent sources
He was released in April 2025, after Ahmed al-Sharaa’s official visit to the UAE on 13 April. On 15 April a photo circulated of al-Masri sitting beside al-Sharaa on the plane returning from the UAE to Syria; Arabi21 reported, citing Syrian activists, that his release followed al-Sharaa’s direct mediation. 3 5
According to a column published by 180Post, the photos on the plane were taken by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. 4
Reported links to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
Published allegation
Verify-Sy, citing press reports from 2019, writes that he was suspected of laundering large sums belonging to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham through Damasco’s branches in Turkey, Iraq, the UAE and Lebanon. 3
A column published by 180Post in April 2025, citing the economic news site Iqtisad, alleges that Damasco’s Istanbul branch bought metals and most of Idlib’s agricultural produce through traders linked to HTS; that al-Jolani (al-Sharaa) tasked al-Masri with investing hard-currency customs revenue from Idlib’s border crossings on stock exchanges, notably in Dubai, which it says was reportedly the reason for his arrest; and that he had earlier laundered money in Dubai for sanctioned businessmen close to Bashar al-Assad. 4
None of these claims has been confirmed by an official or judicial source, and we have found no response from al-Masri or from the Presidency. They are recorded here as published allegations, not as established facts.
A contested record
Supported by independent sources
Verify-Sy notes that in January 2019 al-Masri posted a video of himself taking part in honouring Syria’s national football team, which many Syrians then saw as a propaganda tool of the Assad government, and that Enab Baladi reported in December 2019 that he combined helping refugees with supporting the children of fallen soldiers of the Assad army. Some opposition activists objected to the welcome he received in 2025. 3 4
Not to be confused with
A different person, Muhannad al-Masri, born in 1981 in Qalaat al-Madiq, is a former commander-in-chief of the armed group Ahrar al-Sham. 6
Profile: Ahmed al-Sharaa · Read about the economic committee