Syria has seized the assets of President Bashar al-Assad’s cousin, as the embattled government begins a shakedown of the country’s wealthiest businessmen.

Rami Makhlouf, 50, is accused by the finance ministry of importing smuggled goods and was yesterday ordered to pay 11 billion Syrian pounds (£16m) in fines.

The ministry claimed that in 2017, Mr Makhlouf’s Abar Petroleum Services transferred a shipment of petroleum products, diesel, gasoline, and liquefied gas worth £25m to Syria without paying charges to the customs.

The decision against Mr Makhlouf comes as part of a so-called anti-corruption campaign launched recently by the Syrian regime to force entrepreneurs and businessmen to pay millions of US dollars to the Central Bank to save the country from bankruptcy.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman carried out a similar “anti-corruption” sweep in 2017 that saw princes, businessmen and officials detained and tortured at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh. The prince recovered $100bn in settlements to cover a significant state budget deficit.

Mr Makhlouf, who owns a chain of upmarket hotels, finance companies and SyriaTel, the country’s main mobile phone company, is currently being held under house arrest.