Syrian opposition-linked “toy smuggler” Rami Adham

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Finnish National Bureau of Investigation has completed its preliminary probe into the fundraising efforts of the notorious Syrian opposition-linked “toy smuggler” Rami Adham.

Notorious Syrian opposition-linked "toy smuggler" under investigation by Finnish authorities
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/09/notorious-syrian-opposition-linked-toy.html

The investigation, launched in last October, has revealed the Finnish-Syrian Association was run exclusively by Rami Adham.

The suspect reportedly withdrew at least 300,000 Euros from the Association’s bank account. Some of the funds were later used by Adham to buy a garden shed in Finland, in addition to sending some of the cash to a Turkish bank account.

The Finnish-Syrian Association is also suspected of collecting funds without an official fundraising permit. Although the Association was granted a permit for the Helsinki region, it nonetheless campaigned nationwide, thus breaching the Finnish law.

Aside from that, the Police also found discrepancies in the Association’s bookkeeping. From February 2014 to December 2016, the Association collected nearly 420,000 Euros through its fundraising campaign.

Adham, however, insists all the funds went to different aid projects in Syria, while the Police say they were unable to determine the authenticity of these projects.

Adham is often regarded as the “toy smuggler” due to his efforts to take toys as well as other supplies to the children and other people in need in Syria.

Some sources, however, claim he is in fact collecting the funds to arm the terrorist groups fighting against the Syrian Army.

 

[Seppo Ilmarinen]

Yes, Rami Adham's reputation came down last year, when it was revealed that he had connections to jihadist groups and that he faked pictures of himself getting wounded in Syria (in airstrike that he blamed course on Russia and Syria). Finnish MSM-outlet Helsingin Sanomat received sound tapes and WhatsApp conversations, where he planned the stunt with his sidekick. Before this he was highly praised individual because of his "humanitarian work" and had joined the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) in order to partake politics:

The story is almost beyond belief: a Finnish-Syrian father of six risks his life repeatedly to bring toys and aid to children trapped in the besieged city of Aleppo. To get there he treks through the mountains on foot and clambers across muddy hills under cover of the night. Rami Adham, “the toy smuggler of Aleppo”, has quickly become an international hero.

Adham’s gripping story has been intensively reported in Finland, including in Helsingin Sanomat. Adham has appeared in public with celebrities and politicians. The Finnish first lady Jenni Haukio was a patron of an art auction organized by Adham’s NGO, the Finland-Syria Community. [...]

Already earlier in October HS reported on Adham’s connections to Jihadist movements. Adham has denied the accusations. In a public picture posted on Facebook Adham poses with the known jihadist cleric Abdullah al-Mohaisany. In the post Adham says al-Mohaisany is ”worth a hundred thousand men”, a ”beloved sheikh” and ”the example of the mujahideen”. [...] In January 2016 Adham made headlines in Finland with the news that he had in the course of his aid work been injured in a bombing raid on Aleppo. [...]

Evidence obtained by HS suggests that the injury was faked as a publicity stunt. WhatsApp text and voice messages passed on to HS reveal that Adham and his former assistant, Sami Meshaal, concocted the story in detail to sell it to the media in Finland. [...]

In one exchange Adham sent Meshaal a photo of himself lying on his right side on the floor of the car, with another man crouched down helping him. Commented Meshaal, “It has to look like he’s laying you on your back and treating your arm”. Meshaal added a reminder that Adham’s arm would be in a sling. “You must convince yourself that your arm’s broken before you can convince anybody else.”

HS had the WhatsApp messages professionally translated from Arabic to Finnish. Before being “injured” Adham sent Meshaal an English-language text that would be the first Facebook post after the incident.

“Unfortunately we have lost contact with brother Rami Adham today. We have reports suggesting that he was among the injured of the bombing near Aleppo!” The text is very similar to what was later published on Facebook. Many Finnish media outlets reported on Adham’s injury and published photos of him. It was not long before Adham, with his arm in a sling, was sitting in TV studios telling of the “injury”. Adham’s ploy was decisive in making the toy smuggler a Good Samaritan of wide renown.
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In one voice message Adham promises to get a faked ID card for Meshaal. The offer came in response to a message from Meshaal asking whether he should see a lawyer about getting legitimate papers. “We can do forgeries if you want. Why not? I just did one for myself today”, Adham wrote. “The Finns will swallow it. If not, we’ll shove it into them as a suppository”.

His NGO is still running and Adham is still claiming his innocence in social media.

We also published an article about him on Finnish SOTT last year: https://fi.sott.net/article/419-Lelusalakuljettaja-Rami-Adham-kapinallisten-tukija-ja-Bashar-al-Assadin-vastainen-huijari-sai-medianakyvyytta-poliittisten-mielipiteidensa-vuoksi