The Syrian Future Movement welcomes the announcement issued by the Anti-Illicit Enrichment Committee on March 25, 2026, which revealed the practical mechanisms for managing and investing assets recovered from the former regime. This will be achieved through the establishment of institutions affiliated with the Supreme Council for Economic Development, ensuring the use of these assets in vital sectors while maintaining the continued operation of companies and factories to serve the national economy.
The Syrian Future Movement appreciates the concrete steps announced by the Committee, chaired by Basel Sweidan. These include the formation of temporary boards of directors for major telecommunications companies such as Syriatel and MTN, and the restructuring of properties belonging to the former regime to convert them into government headquarters or state-owned enterprises. This restructuring will be based on a voluntary disclosure mechanism whereby 80% of the asset value will revert to the state, while the remaining 20% will go to the individual who settles their dispute, without granting any legal immunity.
The Syrian Future Movement views these mechanisms as a positive step towards protecting public funds and directing them towards economic development, especially given the urgent need for reconstruction and achieving economic stability. The Movement also emphasizes the importance of publishing a comprehensive list of the names of individuals and companies involved on the Committee’s official website to reinforce the principles of transparency and accountability. The Syrian Future Movement, which previously issued a statement entitled “Statement of the Committee for Combating Illicit Enrichment” on January 16, 2026, on its official website sfuturem.org, reiterates its firm position that financial settlements should be a tool for recovering looted wealth and not a substitute for criminal accountability or transitional justice. It also calls for strengthening independent oversight of the committee’s work.
The Syrian Future Movement calls for the formation of an independent national oversight committee comprising representatives of civil society, international organizations, and economic experts to monitor the transparent allocation of recovered assets and ensure their use towards compensating victims, rebuilding infrastructure, and supporting social and development projects that benefit all Syrians.
At the same time, the Syrian Future Movement warns of the real risks that may accompany financial settlement mechanisms, most notably the possibility of some figures from the old corrupt regime regaining influence through new partnerships or temporary administrative councils. This threatens to reproduce the cycle of corruption under the guise of economic investment. The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes that any financial settlement must be accompanied by clear and transparent judicial procedures that prevent any return of corrupt elites to positions of economic decision-making.
The Syrian Future Movement demands a binding timetable for publishing a comprehensive list of names and companies involved within a maximum of thirty days. It also demands that the committee’s work be subject to periodic external audits by neutral international bodies such as the World Bank or the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to ensure there is no political interference or selective use of recovered assets.
The Syrian Future Movement calls for allocating a clear and specific percentage (no less than 40%) of the proceeds from recovered assets to direct compensation programs for those affected by the conflict and to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the most affected areas. It further calls for the establishment of an independent national fund to manage these proceeds under parliamentary oversight (if parliament is convened) and civil society oversight, ensuring that the benefits are not limited to the public treasury but reach Syrian citizens in a tangible way.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that the success of these mechanisms will not be measured solely by the amount of recovered assets, but also by their ability to build a fair economic system based on efficiency and transparency, preventing a recurrence of the rentier economy model based on cronyism that prevailed for decades.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that combating corruption and investing recovered assets in a fair and transparent manner are two essential pillars for building a strong national economy based on justice and efficiency, and constitute a crucial step towards the stable, democratic, and civil Syria that our people aspire to.
