The rise and fall of Syrian business tycoon Baraa Katerji: From tailor to war profiteer

Syrian business tycoon, Mohammed Baraa Katerji, was killed on Monday, when a drone strike – believed to be Israeli - hit his car in the area of Saboura, close to the Syria-Lebanon border.

The death of one of Syria's richest businessmen has seen some reflect on Katerji's dizzying rise to vast wealth and influence during the Syrian war.

From humble beginnings as a tailor in eastern Syria, Katerji was to become a giant of Syria's post-2011 economy, through taking advantage of the chaos that plagued the country starting in that year.

Katerji, one of the most prominent businessmen to rise during the years of the war, had forged close ties with the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

However, some think Tel Aviv's alleged targeting of the businessman is likely due to his relationship with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah and the Iranians, as he was among their most prominent supporters in Syria and Lebanon.

He is also believed to have funded the establishment of a Hezbollah-linked faction in southern Syria, which has carried out several operations against Israel.

The Katerji's business empire

Baraa and his brother Hussam headed a large business consortium - The Katerji Group - consisting of dozens of companies in an array of fields.

These included the Katerji Engineering and Mechanical Industry Joint Stock Company, the Arvada Petroleum Company, the Aleppo Joint Stock Holding Company, Juzoor company for Agricultural & Animal Husbandry, Katerji Real Estate Development and Investment company, BS Oil Services, and a protection and security firm, highlighting the family’s penetration into multiple areas of the Syrian economy.

BREAKING - Prominent pro-regime Syrian businessman Baraa Katerji killed in Israeli strike near Lebanese-Syrian border – three security sources @Reuters pic.twitter.com/0mxwAxTdpN

— Timour Azhari (@timourazhari) July 15, 2024

From Raqqa to riches

Baraa Katerji was born in Raqqa, though his family is originally from the town of Al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo.

From the 1950s, his father worked as a tailor in Raqqa and established a network of relationships across the region, many of which were based on family and clan ties.

Following his father's death at the beginning of the millennium, Baraa and his two brothers Hussam and Muhammad Agha moved to Aleppo where his rise in the world of finance, dubious business ventures and corruption began.

Fast establishing relationships with Alawite officers, Baraa started acting as a broker for business transactions and waivers, in exchange for payment.

The Katerjis then set up a restaurant in the old city of Aleppo, before moving to Damascus, where the family's influence was to grow further.

War profiteering

In 2013, when factions of the Free Syrian Army were in control of Raqqa governorate, Baraa emerged as a mediator for the transport of wheat from Raqqa to regime-held areas, due to the strong ties he had in the province.

This development opened the doors to his growing influence, which swelled further after Islamic State (IS) took control of Raqqa, Deir Az-Zour, the Aleppo countryside, and parts of Hasakah in 2014.

These regions contain most of Syria's oil and agricultural resources, which the regime – at that point on the verge of falling - desperately needed.

Katerji worked as a mediator between IS and the regime to transport oil and wheat from eastern Syria to regime-held areas – enabling him to amass a vast fortune in just a few years.

His position was further consolidated when rival George Haswani, a Russian businessmen of Syrian origin, was removed from the scene in 2015 after having also mediated between the regime and IS.  

Katerji continued in this role after the defeat of IS, with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which had replaced them in northeast Syria.

Economic researcher Yasser Hussein explained to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister edition: "The Katerji Group was one of the main players in the Syrian economy," adding that "transporting fuel and goods between regions of control in Syria gave it huge influence and economic clout".

He says the family "exploited the state of chaos and the continuing conflict in the country […] and there were broad smuggling networks which it assisted to transport fuel and goods between different regions, which amassed large profits".

Hussein also points out that "the group benefitted from a monopoly over certain markets and price speculation in light of the scarcity of goods and fuel, which also generated a big income".

However, Katerji's role wasn't limited to the economy in a country violently contested by local, regional and international powers - he also established an armed militia.

This was tasked with protecting the convoys transporting crude oil from northeastern Syria to regime-held areas, which had been repeatedly attacked by IS cells in the Syrian desert.

This militia (led by Baraa's brother Hussam who was placed under US sanctions in 2020) also took part in battles with Syrian opposition factions in Idlib in 2020. Last May, local news networks reported that the militia had recruited children and adolescents in Deir Az-Zour into its ranks.

The US Treasury Department had previously sanctioned Baraa Katerji in 2018 for his facilitation of the Assad regime's transactions with IS.

Rashid Hourani, a researcher at the Jusoor for Studies Centre, an independent research institute focused on Syrian political, economic and social dynamics, said the regime's involvement in Katerji's killing shouldn’t be ruled out, adding that it could have done it "to seize his enormous wealth […] like it did with Rami Makhlouf, Bashar al-Assad's cousin".

He said the Iranian side also "benefits from Katerji's killing", adding "the Iranians were trying to curb his influence in Deir az-Zour two years ago to benefit another businessman, Muhammad Hamsho, who is supported by the Fourth Division in the regime's armed forces (led by Maher al-Assad), but the Russians prevented that".

Hourani also points out that Katerji's assassination has come "at a time efforts are being made to rehabilitate the regime by some Arab countries and Turkey," adding: "Perhaps the regime wanted to get rid of one of its most prominent warlords at this time".

This article is based on an article which appeared in our Arabic edition by Mohammed Amin on 17 July 2024. To read the original article click here.