What is the story behind the 'dead men's salaries' in Syria?
From a pension paid to a 150-year-old individual to a single beneficiary receiving 80 monthly salaries, an inspection tour in Syria’s Aleppo Governorate uncovered striking cases within a broad, organized corruption network involving the branches of the General Social Insurance Authority and the General Insurance and Pensions Authority. The investigation concluded with dozens of those involved being referred to the judiciary and several being arrested.
The details, revealed by the Central Inspection and Supervision Authority in a video clip, sparked widespread reaction and outrage on social media platforms in Syria.
The disclosure came during a field inspection tour conducted by the Authority’s Chairman, Engineer Amer Al-Ali, accompanied by Aleppo Governor Engineer Azzam Al-Gharib, and involving 33 inspectors. The tour included auditing contracts with a total value exceeding 3 trillion old Syrian pounds.
According to the Authority, investigations revealed manipulation in the entry of official contract values to reduce payable insurance contributions. This resulted in revenue losses for the public treasury estimated initially at more than 90 billion old Syrian pounds, in addition to the failure to collect financial and insurance fees for years and the illegal non-registration of hundreds of workers in industrial establishments.
Following the tour’s results, the Authority’s Chairman ordered the immediate dismissal of several employees in the pensions, commitments, and financial affairs departments. Meanwhile, the Public Prosecutor in Aleppo issued arrest warrants for those involved and referred them to the judiciary to complete legal accountability procedures.
Inspection activities also uncovered the forgery of pension cards and their use to disburse retirement salaries to ineligible individuals, alongside the continued payment of pensions in the names of people who had died years ago.
Among the most prominent cases that drew public attention were the disbursement of a pension to a person registered at the age of 150, the continued payment of a pension to a woman who died in 2000, and a single individual obtaining 80 pension cards, equivalent to 80 monthly salaries.
