The Kremlin has dismissed rumors that the British wife of ousted Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad has filed for divorce in Russia, amid unconfirmed reports that she hopes to return to the UK.
Asma al-Assad, 49, is currently exiled in Moscow with her husband and three children after Vladimir Putin gave them asylum when rebels took control of Damascus in a lightning advance on December 8.
The former first lady, who left behind a life of luxury, is said to be dissatisfied with her new life under the protection of the Putin regime and reportedly wants to return to London, where she was born.
He has asked a Russian court for permission to leave Russia for Britain, according to several media outlets, including The Jerusalem Post reported, each citing Turkish and Arab media.
His request is currently being evaluated by Russian authorities, according to reports that began circulating on Sunday night.
They suggested the ousted dictator and his family are under “severe restrictions” in Moscow, with Assad reportedly banned from leaving the city or taking part in political activities.
Assad’s wider family is believed to own dozens of apartments in the Russian capital and reportedly moved some 270 kilograms of gold and £1.6bn with him to Moscow when he fled Syria.
But now his assets and money in the country are said to have been frozen, unconfirmed reports add.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov this morning rejected these claims and denied that the former president, a former ally of Putin, had been confined in Moscow.
When asked in a conference call whether the reports corresponded to reality, Peskov said: “No, they do not correspond to reality.”
So far there has been no comment on the divorce reports from Russian authorities or from Al-Assad or his wife.
Asma al-Assad, 49, is currently in exile in Moscow with the overthrown dictator, having left behind her lives of luxury in Syria.
In the photo, Bashar and Asma Al-Assad meet with Vladimir Putin in 2005.
The Assads, their daughter Zein and their son Karim will now be in Russia with Hafez.
Assad’s extended family reportedly bought at least 18 luxury apartments in the City of Capitals complex (pictured), located in Moscow’s glittering skyscraper district.
Asma, 49, was born in London and raised in Acton by Syrian parents. She moved to Syria in 2000 and married the dictator at the age of 25.
The family was offered safe haven by Vladimir Putin, who removed the ousted president from Syria on December 8, shortly before his country fell to rebels.
Asma and the couple’s three children were already in Russia, where he was reportedly receiving treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of blood and bone marrow cancer.
One version is that he would prefer to receive treatment in the UK.
In Moscow, the Assad clan is linked to luxury properties in both the 990-foot City of Capitals complex and the nearby 1,226-foot Federation Tower.
His extended family owns dozens of properties here and elsewhere in Moscow, but he is believed to now reside in official Russian government accommodation.
The Assad family has strong personal ties to the Russian capital, and the ousted president’s eldest son is a doctoral candidate at Moscow State University.
Hafez al-Assad, in his 20s, defended his thesis at Moscow State University and became a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, Russian media report.
The defense reportedly took place on November 29, a week before his father’s fall from power and during the Syrian rebels’ offensive on Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo.
Mrs. Assad previously attended her son’s graduation in June 2023, with photos showing her hugging him in front of MSU’s main building and meeting with university officials.
Hafez al-Assad’s work is written in Russian and has 98 pages. It is dedicated to analytical and algebraic number theory, specifically to questions of polynomials.
At the end of his speech, Al-Assad expressed his gratitude “to the martyrs of his homeland – Syria – and first of all to the martyrs of the Syrian Arab army.”
He also expressed his gratitude to his parents, Bashar and Asma, the rector of Moscow State University, Viktor Sadovnichy, the university staff, and Syrian professors and professors.
The US State Department estimates that the family is worth $2 billion and that their wealth is hidden in numerous accounts, shell companies, offshore tax havens and real estate portfolios.
The Syrian dictator’s extended family has bought at least 20 apartments in Moscow worth more than £30 million in recent years.
In 2012, Wikileaks revealed Asma Al-Assad’s private correspondence, which showed she spent $350,000 on palace furniture and $7,000 on crystal-encrusted shoes.
To keep tens of millions of dollars out of Syria as the country’s civil war raged, the family reportedly bought at least 18 luxury apartments in the City of Capitals complex (pictured).
The two-tower skyscraper is home to some of Russia’s richest businessmen, government ministries, five-star hotels and multinational companies.
Assad’s relatives, the Makhloufs, led by his uncle Mohammed Makhlouf, have long been considered Syria’s second richest and most important family after his own and have significant assets in Russia.
To keep tens of millions of dollars out of Syria as the civil war raged in the country, the family bought at least 18 luxury apartments in the City of Capitals complex, located in Moscow’s glittering skyscraper district, according to the FOOT.
The two-tower skyscraper, which until the opening of London’s Shard in 2012 was the tallest building in Europe, is home to some of Russia’s richest businessmen, government ministries, five-star hotels and multinational companies.