CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

World / Middle East

Syrian tycoon says will refuse government demand to step down from mobile operator

Published: 17 May 2020 - 01:27 pm | Last Updated: 11 Nov 2021 - 05:36 am
Peninsula

Reuters

AMMAN: Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf said on Sunday that authorities had set a deadline for him to resign from the country's leading mobile operator Syriatel or it would revoke the company's licence, but that he would not step down.

In a video, the third the businessmen have issued bringing into the open a deep rift with his cousin President Bashar al Assad, Makhlouf also said the collapse of Syriatel, a main revenue earner for the government, would deal a "catastrophic" blow to the economy.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Catherine Evans)