Rental and sale prohibited Assad's cousin pays for luxury apartment in Valais that he is not allowed to enter

Jan-Niklas Jäger

24.6.2025

The cousin of Syrian ex-dictator Bashar al-Assad owns an apartment in Crans-Montana in the Valais Alps. (symbolic image)
The cousin of Syrian ex-dictator Bashar al-Assad owns an apartment in Crans-Montana in the Valais Alps. (symbolic image)
Bild: IMAGO/Pond5 Images

Shortly before sanctions were imposed on him, Bashar al-Assad's cousin bought an apartment in Switzerland. Since then, he has been left holding the bag. He is not allowed to sell it, rent it out or enter Switzerland.

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  • Hafez Makhlouf, Syrian ex-general and cousin of the ousted ex-dictator Assad, bought a luxury apartment in the Valais Alps in 2011.
  • Shortly afterwards, his accounts were frozen as a result of sanctions against Syria and his apartment was blocked.
  • As he is not allowed to sell the apartment or enter Switzerland to use it himself, he wanted to rent it out.
  • The application was rejected.

Moving into the luxury apartment of a cousin of the ousted Syrian ex-ruler Bashar al-Assad for rent? Hafez Makhlouf, as the cousin is known, would have liked to make this possible. But the Federal Administrative Court rejected his application.

The reason: the apartment in the Valais Alps had already been blocked by Switzerland in 2011 as part of sanctions against the Syrian government, as reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.

Because the Syrian government took brutal action against demonstrators right at the start of the so-called Arab Spring, the European Union imposed sanctions, which Switzerland joined. Makhlouf, who is not only Assad's cousin but also an ex-general in the Syrian military, was and still is affected by this.

Apartment has been empty since 2011

He had just purchased a property for CHF 3 million - via one of the three bank accounts he has in Switzerland. Because the deal had been initiated a month before the sanctions were imposed, the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona allowed him to purchase the apartment - despite the account being blocked.

However, this did not solve Makhlouf's problems: the former general is no more allowed to enter Switzerland than he is to sell the apartment. As a result, it has now been empty for 14 years - and still costs its owner a lot of money: according to court documents viewed by the Tages-Anzeiger, he has to pay around 30,000 to 40,000 francs for it, including administrative costs, taxes and security measures.

Hence Makhlouf's request to at least be allowed to rent out his apartment: The 54-year-old is desperately looking for ways to cover his costs. He is retired and has distanced himself from the Syrian regime, argued the 54-year-old, who, like former dictator Assad himself, is now said to live in Russia. In vain.

Nevertheless, the former military man is somewhat fortunate: since he acquired the luxury apartment in Crans-Montana, its value has doubled.