Before investigating him, Syrian company director disappears

The Syrian al-Baath ( party) daily, mouthpiece of the ruling party in Damascus, said Monday that the director general of one of the public sector's companies has disappeared after investigations started regarding " frozen debts estimated at 300 million Syrian pounds ( $ 6 million)."

Al-Baath added that "each of the deputy director general of the Barada company, its trade and administrative directors, were arrested on July 25, and since that time, the director general disappeared and he was supposed to be interrogated." The paper indicated that the investigations fall in the course of the "care to preserve the public assets and fighting corruption" and that the charges against the arrested men is stealing public funds and falsification.

The paper said that the aim of arresting the men was to audit information coming from five arrested traders -- from several Syrian provinces -- who were dealing with Barada's company during the past five years by ways of postponed payment for real estate mortgage that were found to be fake.