Ihab Makhlouf

Ihab Makhlouf
إيهاب مخلوف
Born	(1973-01-21)21 January 1973^[citation needed]
Died	8 December 2024(2024-12-08) (aged 51) Damascus, Syria
Other names	Ehab Makhlouf
Known for	Syriatel
Parent(s)	Mohammed Makhlouf Ghada Adib Mhanna
Relatives	Hafez Makhlouf (brother) Rami Makhlouf (brother) Iyad Makhlouf (twin brother) Anisa Makhlouf (aunt) Bashar al-Assad (cousin) Atef Najib (cousin)

Ihab Makhlouf (Arabic: إيهاب مخلوف; 21 January 1973 – 8 December 2024), also known as Ehab Makhlouf, was a Syrian businessman, a brother of businessman Rami Makhlouf, intelligence officer and businessman Iyad Makhlouf and maternal cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad.

Makhlouf was sanctioned by the European Union,[1] U.S. Treasury,[2] and UK Treasury[3] for violence against the civilian population during the Syrian uprisings, and for helping Rami Makhlouf or the Syrian government evade sanctions.[2]

Business activities

Ihab Makhlouf was the vice-chairman of Syriatel, the Syrian mobile phone company owned by his brother Rami Makhlouf.[4] He resigned from Syriatel in 2020 when his brother Rami Makhlouf fell into dispute with the Syrian government, pledging loyalty to the Bashar al-Assad government.[5]

In 2020 the Syrian government awarded Ihab Makhlouf and his partner Kuwaiti businessman and former MP Abdul-Hamid Dashti a contract to operate Syria's duty-free shops.[6][7]

Death

Makhlouf was shot to death on 7 December 2024 as he and a number of others, including his brother Iyad, were trying to flee Damascus after the city's fall into Syrian opposition hands; Iyad was wounded in the shooting.[8]

References

1. "Syria: Assad, his cousins and a Moscow skyscraper". Financial Times. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
2. "U.S. imposes sanctions on Syrians, entities linked to government". Reuters. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
3. "Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, HM Treasury. Financial Sanctions Notice, Syria" (PDF). 19 May 2022.
4. "U.S. imposes sanctions on Syrians, entities linked to government". Reuters. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
5. "Rami Makhlouf's brother Ihab confirms Syriatel resignation, declares loyalty to Assad". Al Arabiya English. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
6. "Will Ihab Makhlouf save his family's economic empire in Syria?". Enab Baladi. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
7. The New Arab Staff (24 August 2020). "Assad awards duty-free contract to Rami Makhlouf's brother". Retrieved 23 May 2022.
8. مقتل إيهاب مخلوف وإصابة إياد مخلوف شقيقا رامي وأبناء خالة بشار الأسد (in Arabic)