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Asma al-Assad was a UK-born investment banker who moved to Syria and married Bashar al-Assad in 2000. Feted for her looks and glamourous style, Asma’s image crumbled in the wake of a brutal civil war.
Asma Al-Assad was once the ‘face of female liberation’ in Middle East before the civil war tarnished her image. (Reuters/File)
Asma al-Assad, a London-born investment banker who emerged as Syria’s most controversial First Lady, has reportedly filed for divorce from Bashar al-Assad, after the Syrian President was ousted following a stunning rebel offensive that toppled his over two-decade-old regime.
Asma has reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with her life in Moscow and has sought to move to her hometown London, according to Turkish and Arab media reports. Asma has filed for divorce in a Russian court and sought special permission to leave Moscow, as per the reports.
This came after Bashar al-Assad and his family, including Asma and their children, fled from Syria following the rebel advance orchestrated by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and were granted asylum in Russia. However, the ousted president is living under several restrictions.
Who Is Asma Al-Assad?
Asma al-Akhras was born on August 11, 1975, and raised in London by Syrian parents. Her mother was a Syrian diplomat, while her father was a cardiologist. She graduated from King’s College London in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and French literature and had a career in investment banking.
Asma met Bashar during a trip in Libya together and moved to Syria full-time in 2000. Known for her glamour. attractiveness and willingness to “connect with the people”, Asma was called Syria’s Princess Diana when she married Bashar al-Assad around the same time when he succeeded his father as the President of Syria.
According to BBC, a US State Department report in 2022 estimated that the Assad family’s net worth was between $1 billion and $2 billion, while Bashar and Asma maintained “close patronage relationships with Syria’s largest economic players”, using their companies to launder money from illegal activities and funnelling funds to his autocratic regime.
Asma’s Fall From Grace
Asma, now 49, was once the “face of female liberation for the Middle East”, an image that was pushed in a 2011 profile for Vogue, which praised her glamourous lifestyle and called her “the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies”, according to South China Morning Post. She soon grabbed the spotlight of the high society, hosting celebrities like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and enjoying a lavish reception overseas.
However, her image crumbled under revelations of her luxurious spending while Syria grappled with a devastating civil war that claimed over half a million lives. WikiLeaks in 2012 revealed private documents that showed Asma spending $350,000 on palace furnishings and $7,000 on crystal-encrusted shoes along with a penchant for paintings and jewellery while a common man in Syria could barely afford a living.
While Syria was hit by US sanctions, Asma reportedly shipped her luxurious goods to Dubai to get around the restrictions. The Assad family also used a chunk of its fortune to purchase at least 20 luxury apartments in Moscow, possibly as an “escape route”.
As people protested against Bashar’s regime following the “Arab Spring” that swept the Middle East, Asma was known as one of the “main economic players” in Syria. She reportedly had influence over the economic committee that managed the country’s economic crisis. She also made important decisions on Syria’s food and fuel subsidies, trade and currency issues.
In 2021, London Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Unit launched an investigation into Asma, accusing her of supporting and encouraging terrorism, Sky News reported. Asma was accused of supporting her husband’s brutal regime, including torture, murder and the use of chemical weapons.
Will Asma Be Provided Refuge In UK?
Asma also held influence over the Syria Trust for Development, which managed foreign aid for reconstruction in regime-held areas. Former US Secretary Mike Pompeo called Asma “one of Syria’s most notorious war profiteers” in 2020. Another senior Trump administration official described her as the “business head of the family” and an “oligarch”.
Asma holds a British passport and dual British-Syrian citizenship. The 13-year-old civil war has left her reputation in ruins, along with that of her husband, culminating in them being forced out of Syria.
After the fall of the Assad regime, Asma has now reportedly filed for divorce. The couple have three children – Hafez, Zein and Karim. Reports have suggested that Asma has sought to relocate to London with her children following the Syrian uprising.
However, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said she was no longer welcome in the country and hinted that she may lose her British passport. “Asma Assad (is) potentially someone with UK citizenship that might attempt to come into our country, and I want it confirmed that she’s a sanctioned individual and is not welcome here in the UK,” he told the parliament earlier this month.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that it was “far too early” to discuss such a measure. Notably, Asma al-Assad had her UK assets frozen in March 2012 amid growing protests against her husband’s rule, as part of a European sanction programme that London maintained after Brexit.
(with agency inputs)