Syria, France sign deal to return assets looted by Rifaat al-Assad

Syria and France signed a declaration of intent Tuesday on the return of assets in France that were allegedly looted by Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of former Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.

The declaration was signed at the Presidential Palace in Damascus by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

The signing took place during French President Emmanuel Macron‘s visit to Damascus, where he held talks with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Rifaat al-Assad, a former military commander and vice president under his brother Hafez al-Assad, had been accused in several countries of crimes including killings and torture linked to the 1982 Hama crackdown.

After a failed attempt to seize power in 1984 while Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez al-Assad was ill, he went into exile in France.

A French court convicted Rifaat al-Assad in 2021 of corruption and laundering Syrian state funds through a vast real estate empire, sentencing him to four years in prison.

Rifaat al-Assad died in the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 12, 2026, at the age of 88 following a long illness.