A change of regime did not make Syrian contractors’ ownership transparent

ICIJ identified at least eleven companies formerly connected with the Assad regime receiving roughly $10 million in UN contracts during 2025. The findings came from newly released procurement data, after Assad’s fall in December 2024.

The UN country team described changes in management and the consolidation of security providers under another company. But ownership and the terms of settlements with former regime-linked businesses remained unclear. A security-company manager had disputed earlier reporting about intelligence-service ownership.

The story is not simply that old names appeared on a new contract list. It examines whether changes in control can be independently understood. Humanitarian organizations still need suppliers, while opaque transfers make it harder to establish who ultimately benefits from their spending.