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A US lawmakerÌýhas raised concerns over how the nephew of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad made it into the country, after he was spotted driving a luxury car in Los Angeles earlier this month.

Critics of the Syrian regime have questioned howÌýAli Makhlouf, who is also the sonÌýof a prominent Syrian business tycoon formerly tiedÌýto the Assad regime,Ìýobtain a US visa given that his father is on Washington'sÌýlists.

"The image of Ali Makhlouf, cousin of brutal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, driving a $300,000 Ferrari on the streets of LA, is disgusting,"ÌýRepresentativeÌýJoe Wilson,Ìýa member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, told the Washington-based .

"Ali’s father Rami, who runs a network of shell companies that finance the murder, torture, and forced displacement perpetrated against the Syrian people by the Assad regime, appears on multiple USÌýsanctions lists."

Some interpret Ali Makhlouf’s presence on US soil as another sign that the Biden administration has softened its stance against the Assad regime.Ìý

Since the brutal repression of the Syrian revolution, the US has pursued a policy of isolating Assad diplomatically and pressuring him through economic sanctions. But the US has recently given its green light to Ìýbetween Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and tacitly authorized Jordan - one of its main security partners in the region -Ìýto renew ties with Damascus.

Ali Makhlouf’s father, Rami Makhlouf, has beenÌýon US sanctions lists Ìýfor his prominent role in Syrian corruption networks.ÌýMakhlouf Ìýthrough his close ties with the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, his cousin. He was long rumoured to be Syria’s richest man and controller of more than half of the Syrian economy through multiple companies including Syriatel, Syria’s leading phone company.

Throughout the Syrian war, he remained an economic pillar ofÌýthe Syrian regime. But in 2019, Makhlouf started to with the Syrian regime, who forced him to hand over several of his companies, including Syriatel. InÌýMay 2020, most of his .