A major pillar of former Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad’s rule, Khaddam served in high-level government posts from 1970 until 2005, first as foreign minister and then vice president.

During this time, Assad’s regime routinely engaged in human rights violations and persecuted political opponents. Associated with the regime’s rampant corruption, Khaddam helped oversee Syria’s brutal occupation of Lebanon, which ended in 2005.

Read OCCRP’s investigation into how Credit Suisse served regional elite on the eve of the Arab Spring.