Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
October 28, 2021
A new study by strategic and international think tanks and research centers revealed that the Assad regime is siphoning off millions of dollars of foreign aid by manipulating the exchange rate of the Syrian pound. This means that international donors are effectively funding the Assad regime which made $60 million in 2020 by pocketing $0.51 of every aid dollar the UN agencies sent to Syria.
The study exposed more methods that the Assad regime is using to loot foreign aid. This indicates the failure of the UN to manage relief aid in a way that ensures that it reaches those who deserve it and prevents the Assad regime from seizing it.
UN aid offers the Assad regime a sizable opportunity for theft. The UN must deal with this issue with the highest degree of diligence and attention so that the UN aid does end up feeding the Assad regime and its militias’ killing machine.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition calls on the UN to interrogate all parties involved in this case. Action must be taken to hold accountable all those who facilitated such deals; kept silent about them; or ignored manipulations that facilitated this illegal behavior.
The UN must also establish effective mechanisms to ensure the delivery of relief to our people in the regime areas without passing through the corridors of corruption run by the regime’s intelligence agencies and gangs. Measures must also be taken to ensure that UN aid is not stolen or used to finance the regime’s war against the Syrian people.
