A social media post by the Minister of Endowments in Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government has revealed that the Director of the Syrian Sovereign Wealth Fund is Abu Maryam al-Australi (also known as Ibrahim Sakariya). The post, which included photographs, showed al-Australi appearing alongside the minister.
This disclosure comes at a time when no official announcement has been made regarding the identity of the fund’s director or its administrative structure, despite nearly a year passing since the decree for its establishment was issued.
According to reports, the post published by the Minister of Endowments was deleted shortly after it appeared, with no explanation provided for its removal.
In a related context, an investigative report by Reuters previously highlighted the role of Abu Maryam al-Australi, alongside Hazem al-Sharaa (the brother of Ahmed al-Sharaa), as key figures involved in the seizure of properties belonging to businessmen linked to the former regime. The investigation stated that up to 80% of these individuals’ assets are being seized, with a total lack of transparency regarding the new owners or the fate of the transferred movable and immovable assets.
Abu Maryam al-Australi was born in Australia to an Australian mother and a Lebanese father. Before arriving in Syria in 2013 to fight alongside Al-Qaeda, he reportedly worked as a shawarma vendor. He later rose to lead an economic committee within the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization and is recognized as one of the founders of the controversial “Sham Cash” application.
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