Documents published in the British press show that senior members of the regime in Syria have set up an extensive network of straw companies to evade the sanctions imposed on them.

These companies are only there to blur the fingerprints that lead to a palace in Damascus and senior members of the regime and therefore make it difficult for the West to impose effective sanctions on Assad's elite.
 
The published documents mention three companies that were recently established and each of which is registered under the ownership of personalities affiliated with the regime, some of whom are in direct contact with personalities on Western sanctions lists. The membership documents state that their purpose is to "purchase shares of companies". It should be noted that last year one of the ministers in the Assad regime stated that evading sanctions had become "Syrian work." 

In short, Assad and Putin have something to talk about these days ...