Strengthening Pathways for Recovering Syrian Assets to Deliver Reparation for Survivors

Strengthening Pathways for Recovering Syrian Assets to Deliver Reparation for Survivors

By Natalia Kubesch, Legal Officer

As Syria emerges from decades of dictatorship and violent conflict, marked by repression and grave human rights violations, civilians continue to face extreme hardship. Their suffering has been aggravated by urgent humanitarian needs, with half the population displaced and facing severe food insecurity.

Meanwhile, significant assets linked to conflict-related corruption and human rights violations are suspected to remain frozen or concealed in jurisdictions including the UK and EU. These assets are often held through complex financial structures involving real estate, offshore companies, bank accounts and intermediaries.

On 2 June 2025, REDRESS convened a roundtable, bringing together civil society actors, legal experts, investigators, journalists and survivor-led advocacy groups. The focus was a pressing yet under-addressed aspect of post-conflict justice in Syria: how to recover illicit assets linked to Syria’s protracted conflict and repurpose them as reparations for survivors.

Participants explored practical strategies for identifying, recovering and redirecting illicit assets – whether connected to the former Assad regime, ISIS, or other actors responsible for serious human rights violations in Syria – to provide justice and reparation to victims.

Reparations seek to address the consequences of grave human rights violations and are essential for restoring survivors’ dignity and well-being. As a right guaranteed by international law, reparation for survivors may take different forms, including compensation, rehabilitation, access to healthcare, support in reclaiming lost loved ones and properly, memorials and commemorations.

Exploring Legal Pathways

The full scale of the hidden wealth linked to conflict-related corruption and human rights violations in Syria is still unknown. In the UK alone, an estimated £163 million in assets are currently frozen under Syria-related sanctions. The central question is whether these assets can be lawfully repurposed to support Syria’s reconstruction and provide redress to survivors of the conflict.

While sanctions regimes can freeze assets, they rarely provide clear channels for redirecting funds for reparative purposes. As discussions around easing sanctions continue, the urgency of establishing effective recovery frameworks grows – before assets disappear or are lost to bureaucracy.

Despite the challenges, several high-profile cases demonstrate that accountability through financial means is achievable – and potentially transformative – if seized assets can be redirected towards survivors:

In France and the UK, courts have ordered the confiscations of tens of millions in assets linked to Rifaat al-Assad, a former Syrian military officer and the uncle of deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad – following convictions for tax fraud and laundering an estimated $300m in stolen public funds.
In Spain proceedings against Rifaat al-Assad, and his family members are underway for money laundering that could result in the seizure of up to EUR 700 million in assets.
The Lafarge case demonstrated that corporate actors can also be held accountable for their role in conflict financing, with nearly $800 million in penalties levied in the United States for the company’s financial support to ISIS during its campaign of terror, including atrocities crimes against the Yazidi community.

While these cases show that asset confiscation is legally viable, none have yet translated into direct reparations for Syrian survivors. A key issue is the lack of clear and accessible pathways – both nationally and internationally – for ensuring that seized assets benefit affected communities.

Participants discussed how existing tools—such as the EU Directive on asset recovery and confiscation—could be more effectively leveraged or adapted to enable the repurposing of seized assets for reparations. Greater flexibility and survivor-centred approaches are essential to achieving meaningful outcomes.

Comparative insights from Ukraine – where similar efforts are underway – offer potential models for how to design survivor-focused asset recovery and reparation frameworks, even in politically complex contexts.

Challenges in Asset Recovery

Asset tracing is often a slow, expensive process that depends on international cooperation. Some jurisdictions—particularly those with limited transparency or political ties to actors involved in the conflict—pose significant obstacles to recovery efforts.

The discussion emphasised the need for robust documentation, including comprehensive databases to map financial networks, track asset flows, and build stronger legal cases. Participants agreed that building and maintaining such financial architecture is essential, not only to support legal proceedings but also to increase transparency and accountability over the long term.

Survivor Engagement and Inclusive Reparations

A central theme was the importance of placing survivors at the heart of any future reparation process. Beyond financial compensation, participants stressed the need for measures that restore dignity and offer meaningful support – such as access to services, education and livelihoods.

The discussion also underlined the importance of inclusive reparation processes that reflect the diverse experiences of survivors, including women, children and people with disabilities. Ensuring that survivors are not just consulted but actively involved in the design, governance and implementation of reparation programmes was seen as essential for credibility and impact.

Models for survivor-led advocacy and support already exist in Syria, and lessons from these initiatives could inform future policy and programme development, including the design of a potential Syria Victim Fund.

Looking Ahead

The roundtable offered a timely opportunity to connect practitioners across disciplines and explore how asset recovery contributes meaningfully to post-conflict justice in Syria. While there is no quick solution, through sustained efforts – grounded in legal innovation, international cooperation and survivor inclusion – asset recovery can move beyond technical procedure to become a tangible tool for reparation.

By sharing strategies and building trust, participants laid the groundwork for future cooperation. With billions in frozen or hidden assets potentially at stake, there remains a real opportunity to ensure that funds once used to finance harm are directed to secure justice, accountability and reparation for survivors.

Photo: Freedom House. Rescue members and people gather at the sit hit by what activists said was an air raid by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo’s Maadi neighbourhood January 29, 2014.