Central Authority for Supervision and Inspection said it has uncovered financial and technical violations worth tens of billions of Syrian pounds in oil and gas supply contracts signed under the defunct regime.
The authority said an inspection team reviewed contracts between a state-run oil and gas company and a public enterprise for metals and construction materials. The audit covered more than 2,500 high-value items supplied in previous years.
According to the findings, shortages in the public enterprise’s warehouses led to the use of secondary suppliers to meet production needs for oil facilities in the Homs desert. Expert committees were later brought in to verify specifications and market prices at the time.
The investigation found price discrepancies exceeding 32 billion Syrian pounds (about $2.83 million) and several cases of noncompliance with technical standards.
Authorities have imposed asset freezes and travel bans on those involved from both agencies and the secondary suppliers, pending completion of the final investigation.
In a separate case last September, the authority reported uncovering more than $1 million in corruption at defense factories dating back to the same period.
Amer Dhawa
