War criminal's money manager operated illegally without oversight

In Guernsey, a small British dependency, Ginette Blondel, a financial manager, was severely penalized for her dealings with Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syria's current president. Blondel, who earned a master's degree in corporate governance and began her career in the financial services sector in 2000, was fined £210,000 in March for operating without a license and breaking local laws. Her primary client was Rifaat al-Assad, whose wealth largely derived from embezzled funds during his brother Hafez al-Assad's regime in Syria. Throughout her employment under nebulous conditions from 2013 to the time of her penalty, multiple criminal investigations into the Assad family's financial affairs were ongoing. Spanish prosecutors labeled a significant portion of Rifaat’s wealth as derived from Syrian public funds, with some estimates tracing approximately $300 million directly tied to his brother's manipulation of state resources during the 1980s. These investigations were prompted by concerns regarding human rights abuses and war crimes linked to the Assad family's regime. Following a series of complaints, notably from the organization Sherpa, French authorities initiated a money laundering investigation into Rifaat. This probe unveiled the substantial property empire he had amassed, much of it concealed under the names of his family members rather than his own. The Swiss authorities similarly investigated allegations of Rifaat’s involvement in mass atrocities in Hama during the regime of his brother, resulting in an international arrest warrant issued in 2021, alongside formal war crime charges. Despite Blondel's significant role in facilitating funds for a figure tied to such allegations, her lack of prosecution drew questions, as the evidential threshold for taking legal action differs markedly from that of regulatory actions. Guernsey's financial regulator emphasized that it is committed to tackling financial crime but often encounters obstacles in meeting the legal standards required for prosecution. This incident sheds light on the broader challenges in regulating finances linked to illicit activities, particularly in jurisdictions such as Guernsey, where regulatory enforcement seems to fall short of deterring corrupt practices effectively.