LONDON: Syrian authorities have uncovered a corruption case involving a financial loss of 19 billion Syrian pounds (approximately $1.7 million) and a ring of employees at the General Establishment of Syrian Railways, which occurred during Bashar Assad’s regime.
The Central Authority for Supervision and Inspection announced on Sunday that its investigation into suspicious supply contracts within the GESR, covering the years 2023 and 2024, revealed contracts for spare parts at prices that included “unjustified financial discrepancies.”
It also uncovered complicity among some GESR employees and one of the suppliers in a parts contract.
Authorities announced that they are taking steps to protect public funds by preventing those involved from leaving the country and requiring them to return embezzled amounts, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
Last month, the Central Authority for Supervision and Inspection revealed financial corruption amounting to over 25 million Syrian pounds during an inspection of a textbook warehouse owned by the Syrian General Organization of Books in Damascus, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture.
