A former Syrian general wanted for crimes against humanity is being bankrolled and protected by the US and Lebanese authorities, a BBC News investigation has found.
Bassam al-Hassan oversaw Syria's chemical weapons programme and served as a senior adviser to former President Bashar al-Assad. He is being harboured in Lebanon following the collapse of the Assad regime in early December 2024.
The BBC and NPR investigation revealed that Hassan has been allowed to remain there under an arrangement involving the FBI, CIA and other US and Lebanese authorities. This stems from his willingness to provide information about the abduction of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria in 2012, as well as additional intelligence.
Officials from two different branches of Syria's new government have told the BBC they want Hassan returned to face trial, but US authorities want him kept in Lebanon and say there is little Damascus can do about it.
The FBI, CIA and Lebanon's General Directorate of General Security were asked to comment. Only the FBI responded, declining to comment and directing to a past statement that its focus remained on establishing the facts around the Tice case and securing his return.
Phil Elwood, spokesperson for the Tice family, said the arrangement is offensive and said it provides a comfortable life for someone associated with the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians, who claims to have had Austin Tice executed. This is nothing less than aiding and abetting the escape of a wanted war criminal, he added.
As part of the investigation, the BBC reviewed a detailed record of a meeting between Hassan, FBI and CIA representatives, and Lebanese security officials, where Tice's case is discussed. In it, Hassan is offered residency, protection and help securing his living needs in return for information, primarily about Tice.
Sources with knowledge of the arrangement confirmed this was the case, and described how Hassan receives money from the US authorities through an intermediary, making it harder to trace. Hassan is sanctioned by the US government.
People connected to the Tice investigation say they have seen little evidence it has significantly advanced since Hassan began providing information as part of this agreement. The deal is believed to have been struck in the spring of 2025.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation have expressed concerns that Hassan's arrangement with the US could continue indefinitely, at significant expense but with little gain.
Following the fall of the Assad regime in early December 2024, Hassan is believed to have initially escaped to Iran. A Syrian businessman, with strong connections to both the former regime and the Lebanese authorities, told the BBC that negotiations had then taken place involving the US, Lebanon, and Iran to bring Hassan to Lebanon.
Hassan told US investigators last year that Tice had been executed on former President Assad's orders, but several people with knowledge of the investigation have questioned the details of his account. Hassan has provided a potential location for Tice's remains, but when the site was searched, nothing was found, casting doubt on the validity of some of Hassan's information.
Other Syrian regime officials connected to the Tice case have also apparently found refuge abroad. They include Mohammad Makhlouf, who reported to Hassan in Syria and was connected to Tice's detention and is now believed to be residing in Lebanon, and Sakr Rustom, Hassan's nephew who was involved in Tice's abduction and is now believed to be moving between the UAE and Lebanon.
Ghassan Nassour, a former general in Syria's Republican Guard, is said to be living in the UAE with his family.
When the BBC managed to reach Hassan by phone last year to ask for an interview, he directed them to seek permission for him to speak from the FBI and CIA at the US embassy in Beirut.
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