A view of the presidential palace in Damascus, after Assad was ousted in December. — Reuters
AS his regime crumbled, Bashar al-Assad made a hasty exit, using a private jet to move cash, valuables and confidential documents from Damascus to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a covert four-flight operation.
The Embraer Legacy 600 jet – tail number C5-SKY and registered in Gambia – was arranged by Assad’s top economic aide, Yasar Ibrahim.
The aircraft shuttled key aides, relatives and materials critical to Assad’s corporate empire out of Syria in the final 48 hours before the regime’s collapse.
Sources – ranging from ex-intelligence officers to insiders in Assad’s business network – confirmed that each flight ferried black bags of cash (each containing at least US$500,000), electronic devices and documents outlining the structure of ‘The Group’, a web of entities controlling sectors from telecoms to energy.
Yasar was sanctioned for facilitating the regime’s economic survival through shell companies and financial fronts.
The fourth and final flight departed on Dec 8 from the Russian-operated Hmeimim military base in Latakia, on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
Assad himself left from the same base for Russia, where he was granted asylum.
Personal souvenirs belonging to the former president strewn about one of the palace’s rooms. — Reuters
Reuters spoke to 14 Syrian sources and examined satellite images, WhatsApp chats between Yasar’s associates and global aviation records to reconstruct the secretive operation.
On Dec 6, as rebels neared Damascus, the 13-seat jet arrived at the capital’s international airport.
Air Force intelligence officers sealed off the VIP terminal.
According to sources on-site, a convoy of Republican Guard vehicles escorted passengers and cargo to the jet.
The head of airport security, Brig-Gen Ghadeer Ali, reportedly told ground staff, “This plane is coming to land and we will deal with it. You have not seen this plane.”
Assad’s direct involvement was not officially confirmed, but the presence of the Republican Guard – a unit loyal only to Assad or his cousin Gen Talal Makhlouf – left little doubt.
“Bashar gave the orders,” said a former Guard officer.
Flight data shows the C5-SKY jet flew to Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport on each trip.
It first arrived in Damascus just after midday on Dec 6, then returned to Abu Dhabi the same evening.
Each time the jet landed, cars rushed to meet it. Witnesses say palace staff, relatives and even teenagers boarded the first two flights, along with bags of cash and artworks.
The third flight on Dec 7 carried hard drives and documents detailing financial records, company ownerships and offshore transfers linked to Assad’s empire.
UAE embassy vehicles were reportedly seen near the plane before take-off, suggesting that the Gulf state was aware.
With rebels at the gates on Dec 8, Assad fled to Latakia under Russian protection.
People waving flags adopted by the new Syrian government during celebrations in Damascus after Assad’s ousting. — Reuters
That same day, the C5-SKY plane vanished from tracking radar after passing Homs, only to reappear hours later, flying back to Abu Dhabi.
Satellite imagery confirmed the jet had landed at Hmeimim air base.
Aboard was Ahmed Khalil Khalil, a sanctioned associate of Yasar, who arrived in an Emirati embassy armoured vehicle and carried US$500,000 in cash.
The funds had been withdrawn two days earlier from Syria International Islamic Bank, via an account linked to Al-Burj Investments – a company half-owned by Yasar.
Sources said the aircraft was leased under a “dry lease” – providing only the plane, without crew or operations.
The jet was leased from Lebanese businessman Mohamad Wehbe, who referred to it in a WhatsApp chat as “the Lebanese plane”.
It was registered in Gambia under Flying Airline Company, which is majority-owned by an Iraqi national and partly by a Lebanese man named Oussama Wehbe – believed to be Mohamad’s son.
C5-SKY had flown frequently to Russia before Assad’s fall, including during a period when Western aviation sanctions were in place against Moscow.
The government of new Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa is determined to recover assets smuggled abroad.
A senior official confirmed that money was taken before Assad’s fall but offered no details.
While it’s unclear if Assad personally directed the operation, insiders said such a sensitive mission could not have proceeded without his consent. — Reuters
