Syria's new rulers are combing through the billion-dollar corporate empires of ousted president Bashar al-Assad's allies, and have held talks with some of these tycoons, in what they say is a campaign to root out corruption and illegal activity. After seizing power in December, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group that now runs Syria pledged to reconstruct the country after 13 years of brutal civil war and abandon a highly-centralized and corrupt economic system where Assad's cronies held sway. To do so, the executive led by new president Ahmed al-Sharaa has set up a committee tasked with dissecting the sprawling corporate interests of high-profile Assad-linked tycoons including Samer Foz and Mohammad Hamsho, three sources told Reuters.