Unidentified persons kidnapped Morhaf al-Akhras, the cousin of Asma al-Akhras, the wife of the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, in Lebanon, demanding a ransom be paid for his release, according to several Lebanese media outlets.

Lebanon’s LBC TV network said today, Tuesday, September 17, that “Morhaf Akhras, the cousin of the Syrian president’s wife has been missing for two days between the areas of Chtaura and Aley, in mysterious circumstances.”

Besides, the Voice of Lebanon, a broadcast radio station also known by the abbreviation VDL, stressed that “the wife of Morhaf al Akhras received a call from the eastern Bekaa from Morhaf’s Syrian mobile phone, where kidnappers asked for a ransom of  3 million USD for releasing him.”

For its part, the Lebanese intelligence initiated an investigation into kidnapping Morhaf according to the RT website which quoted sources from the Lebanese army as saying that “the intelligence received information about the disappearance of Morhaf Akhras, and the investigation is underway.”

Morhaf al-Akhras is the son of the Syrian businessman Tarif al-Akhras, Asma al-Assad’s uncle. Morhaf al Akhras owns a plant for producing vegetable oils and refining olive oil in addition to his shares in the Taj Industrial Investment Group, and Bank of Jordan/Syria, along with his two sisters, Diana and Noura.

Further, the father, Tarif Al-Akhras is considered one of the most prominent businessmen in Syria. He owns the lines of importing sugar and sunflower oil, and  a manufacturing plant for refining and processing white sugar, alcohol, molasses sugar and yeast with a capital of five billion Syrian pounds.

Moreover, Tarif also has with his children a manufacturing plant for pressing and refining olive oil and producing raw and imported vegetable oils used in producing hydrogenated vegetable ghee, with a capital of two billion Syrian pounds, in addition to owning other companies.