Muhammad Bashar Kiwan

Muhammad Bashar Kiwan was born in 1966 to Syrian parents in Kuwait. He received a master's degree in economics from the University of Montpellier in France and speaks fluent Arabic, French and English.{{Cite web|title=Bashar Kiwan|url=https://businessmen.pro-justice.org/en/bashar-kiwan-2/|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Assad’s Businessmen|language=en-US}}

In 1992, he established Al-Waseet, a classified advertising newspaper in Kuwait, in partnership with local businessmen Sheikh Sabah Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah and Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi. Initially a weekly publication in Kuwait, Al-Waseet expanded its operations to Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Egypt. Additionally, it launched editions under the name Al Wasila in Saudi Arabia and Syria.{{Cite web|title=من هو بشار كيوان ويكيبيديا السيرة الذاتية - موقع اعرف اكثر|url=https://www.aerfaktr.net/2838/%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%87%D9%88-%D8%A8%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A9|access-date=2021-01-12|website=www.aerfaktr.net}}{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Executive |date=2007-04-01 |title=Al Waseet pushes into region |url=https://www.executive-magazine.com/lebanon/al-waseet-pushes-into-region |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Executive Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Abrahamian |first=Atossa Araxia |date=2019-10-26 |title=Jho Low, Linked to 1MBD Heist, Banked in Comoros Bank Owned by Kuwait Sheikh |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/10/26/jho-low-1mbd-comoros-offshore-bank/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}

He is a founding partner in United Group for Publishing Advertising and Marketing, also known as United Group (UG), with his business partner Majd Bahjat Suleiman (son of Syrian Major General Bahjat Suleiman).{{Cite book |last=Abrahamian |first=Atossa Araxia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/927317044 |title=The cosmopolites : the coming of the global citizen |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-9909763-6-3 |location=New York |pages=27 |oclc=927317044}}{{Cite journal |last=Lazkani |first=Alimar |date=2018-11-23 |title=Local Actors in the Syrian Coastal Area: Characteristics and Prospects |url=https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/local-actors-in-the-syrian-coastal-area-characteristics-and-prospects/ |journal=Arab Reform Initiative |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Sharp |first1=Jeremy M. |title=Unrest in Syria and U.S. Sanctions Against the Asad Regime |journal=Congressional Research Service |date=9 August 2011 |page=4 |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc94042/m1/1/high_res_d/RL33487_2011Aug09.pdf}}{{Cite web |date=2020-10-27 |title=This Critical Juncture: Elite Competition in a Receding Civil War |url=https://pomeps.org/this-critical-juncture-elite-competition-in-a-receding-civil-war |access-date=2022-05-05 |website=Project on Middle East Political Science |language=en-US}} Regarded as the media arm of the Assad regime in various Arab countries, United Group (UG) publishes the government-aligned Baladna newspaper in Syria, and published the defunct Al-Balad newspaper in Lebanon, Kuwait, and the Comoros.{{Cite book |last=Daher |first=Joseph |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1265465288 |title=Syria After the Uprisings The Political Economy of State Resilience. |date=2020 |publisher=Haymarket Books |isbn=978-1-64259-416-4 |location=La Vergne |oclc=1265465288}} Kiwan and Suleiman grew their partnership with the establishment of several affiliated businesses in the fields of banking, construction, tourism, advertising and publishing, taking on local business partners in various countries.{{cite news |last1=Mansour |first1=Mohamed |title=Interview: Mohamad Mansour – How Syria's Media Tycoons Control the Market |agency=The Syrian Observer |url=https://syrianobserver.com/interviews/28083/interview_mohamad_mansour_how_syria_media_tycoons_control_market.html}} Their businesses include Al Waseet International, AWI Holding Limited, Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH), Comoro Gulf Aviation,{{Cite web |title=Kiwan - M. Bachar {{!}} ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database |url=https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/80087241 |access-date=2021-12-29 |website=offshoreleaks.icij.org}} Dagher and Kiwan General Trading, and Jad & Jana (France).{{Cite web |title=Jad & Jawa (Paris, 75008) : siret, TVA, adresse... |url=https://entreprises.lefigaro.fr/jad-jawa-75/entreprise-525278685 |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=entreprises.lefigaro.fr}}{{Cite web |title=AWI Holding Limited - 2119 - Dubai (UAE) |url=https://b2bhint.com/en/company/ae/awi-holding-limited--2119 |access-date=2022-05-05 |website=b2bhint.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=محمد بشار بن محمد بشير كيوان. يد نظام الأسد لتجارة الجنس والمخدرات في الكويت |url=https://www.aochrs.org/2020/05/blog-post_572.html |access-date=2021-01-12 |website=المركز العربي الأوروبي للدراسات - EURO Center for Studies (CAEFS) |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Kiwan Buys Large Share of UG – Report |url=https://syria-report.com/news/kiwan-buys-large-share-of-ug-report/ |access-date=2022-02-11 |website=Syria Report |language=en-US}}

In the Comoros, United Group (UG) affiliate Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH) worked closely with former Comorian president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, and "monopolized investment and development on the islands."{{Cite book |last=Lori |first=Noora |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1119537788 |title=Offshore citizens : permanent temporary status in the Gulf |date=2019 |isbn=978-1-108-63256-0 |location=Cambridge |pages=220 |oclc=1119537788}} CGH's holdings included the Comoros United Company for Publishing and Distributing, which published the weekly newspaper Al-Waseet and a daily newspaper in Arabic and French, Al-Balad. CGH also established a local bank, the Banque Féderale De Commerce, in Comoros.{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Iain |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1117633752 |title=Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea : a history of the Comoros |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press, Incorporated |isbn=978-0-19-750756-8 |location=Oxford |pages=199 |oclc=1117633752}}

Kiwan and Suleiman also established AWI Company, also known as AWI Group, an affiliate of United Group (UG) based in Dubai Media City.{{Cite web |date=2010-02-23 |title=AWI prepares for 2012 IPO |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/awi-prepares-for-2012-ipo-1.483860 |access-date=2021-03-15 |website=The National |language=en}} AWI Company published a number of technical and advertising newspapers and magazines in 35 cities in 12 countries. The group publications included Layalina, Top Gear, Marie Claire, Fortune, and Concord Media for Road Advertisements.{{Cite web |title=À la découverte de Bachar Kiwan, entrepreneur à succès {{!}} Pays monde |url=https://www.pays-monde.fr/autre/actualite-des-medias-dans-le-moyen-orient-bachar-kiwan-profil-d-un-entrepreneur-hors-normes.html |access-date=2021-03-15 |language=fr-FR}} The group planned for an IPO in 2012 but stopped due to Syrian civil war.

{{Further|Comoros passport sales scandal}}

Kiwan was the mastermind behind an economic citizenship program that he launched with his close associate, former Comorian president Abdullah Sambi.{{Cite web|last=Cafiero|first=Giorgio|date=2016-09-04|title=The Gulf Arab States Buy Influence in Comoros|url=https://lobelog.com/the-gulf-arab-states-buy-influence-in-comoros/|access-date=2021-03-15|website=LobeLog|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Bashar Kiwan leads in bringing development to Comoros|url=https://www.culture-travel.info/the-contribution-of-bashar-kiwan-in-the-development-of-the-comoros-island/|access-date=2021-03-15|language=fr-FR}} In 2018, Kiwan, two former Comoros presidents, and several other associates were criminally charged in relation to embezzlement of millions of euros diverted from this program to Kiwan and his associates.{{Cite web|date=2018-04-10|title=Comoros ex-presidents embroiled in passport sale scandal|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20180410-comoros-ex-presidents-embroiled-passport-sale-scandal|access-date=2021-03-26|website=France 24|language=en}}

Thousands of passports had been sold outside of official channels by 'mafia networks', of which hundreds were sold to Iranians, prompting fears amongst Western and Gulf allies that the passports were being used to skirt sanctions.{{Cite news |date=2018-03-23 |title=Exclusive: Comoros passport scheme was unlawful, abused by 'mafia' networks - report |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-comoros-passports-exclusive-idUSKBN1GZ37H |access-date=2022-07-29}}{{Cite news |date=2018-01-20 |title=Comoros says abuse of passports-for-cash scheme worries Gulf allies |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-comoros-passports-idUSKBN1F911H |access-date=2022-09-30}}

From 21 to 24 November 2022, Kiwan was tried for embezzlement and money laundering of Comorian public funds allegedly diverted from the economic citizenship program.{{Cite news |date=November 22, 2022 |title=Comoros Ex-leader Refuses To Attend High Treason Trial |work=AFP News |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/comoros-ex-leader-refuses-to-attend-high-treason-trial-01669128307}}{{Cite news |date=November 21, 2022 |title=Comores : l'ancien président Sambi jugé pour "haute trahison" |work=Le Figaro |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/comores-l-ancien-president-sambi-juge-pour-haute-trahison-20221121}} On 28 November 2022, Bashar Kiwan was found guilty of criminal fraud, money laundering, and embezzlement of Comorian public funds. He was sentenced in to 10 years in jail.

Kiwan has reportedly been arrested and investigated in the UAE for fraud related to a telecom license he obtained in the Comoros. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Emirati tycoon Talal Al-Khoury invested US$34 million in the deal, but claims Kiwan defrauded him, embezzled the money for other uses, and sold the license to another operator.{{Cite web|date=2014-03-07|title=COMOROS ISLANDS : Another setback for Bashar Kiwan - 07/03/2014 - The Indian Ocean Newsletter|url=https://www.africaintelligence.com/eastern-and-southern-africa_business/2014/03/07/another-setback-for-bashar-kiwan,108011423-art|access-date=2021-03-15|website=Africa Intelligence|language=en}}  

In November 2017, Kiwan was sentenced to five years in prison in Kuwait for forgery, following a case initiated by his business partner, Sheikh Sabah Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah.{{Cite web |title=السجن 5 سنوات لبشار كيوان في قضية رفعها صباح المبارك |url=https://www.alqabas.com/article/454854-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%AC%D9%86-5-%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%82%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B9%D9%87%D8%A7/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=جريدة القبس}} Shortly thereafter, Kiwan illegally fled Kuwait, and in January 2018, three individuals were arrested for aiding his escape.{{Cite web |title=Kuwait: Three suspects arrested for helping convicted businessman flee the country |url=https://www.gdnonline.com/details/304762/three-suspects-arrested-for-helping-convicted-businessman-flee-the-country |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=www.gdnonline.com}} In June 2020, Kiwan publicly reemerged as a self-proclaimed whistleblower, alleging he had been tortured and forced to launder money for Sheikh Sabah Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah, prompting him to flee Kuwait to evade prosecution.{{Cite news |last1=Bisserbe |first1=Noemie |last2=Hope |first2=Bradley |last3=Viswanatha |first3=Aruna |date=2020-06-09 |title=1MDB's Suspected Mastermind Found New Ways to Move Money in Kuwait |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/1mdbs-suspected-mastermind-found-new-ways-to-move-money-in-kuwait-11591726720 |access-date=2025-03-28 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}} By December 2020, Kiwan initiated arbitration proceedings against the State of Kuwait, claiming damages arising from the government’s alleged seizure of his investments following criminal investigations related to fraud charges and his imprisonment.{{Cite web |title=UNCTAD: Kiwan v. Kuwait Bachar Kiwan v. State of Kuwait (ICSID Case No. ARB/20/53) |url=https://investmentpolicy.unctad.org/investment-dispute-settlement/cases/1073/kiwan-v-kuwait |website=UNCTAD: Kiwan v. Kuwait Bashar Kiwan v. State of Kuwait (ICSID Case No. ARB/20/53)}}

In March 2023, Kiwan was convicted of money laundering alongside his former partner related to the same activities he claimed to expose in 2020, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-30 |title=Kuwait court sentences Jho Low to 10 years in jail |url=https://www.malaysianow.com/news/2023/03/30/kuwait-court-sentences-jho-low-to-10-years-in-jail |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=MalaysiaNow |language=en}} In April 2023, the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention rendered an opinion stating that Kiwan had been arbitrarily detained and subjected to inhumane treatment in Kuwait during his prosecution and subsequent conviction for forgery in 2017.{{Cite journal |last=Geneva) |first=UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (96th sess : 2023 |date=2023-05-04 |title=Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its 96th session, 27 March-5 April 2023 :: Opinion No. 28/2023 concerning Bachar Kiwan (Kuwait) |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4021366?v=pdf |language=en}}

In March 2025, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled on Bashar Kiwan’s arbitration case against Kuwait. The tribunal found that Kuwait had breached the France-Kuwait Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) by failing to provide fair and equitable treatment. This violation stemmed from a denial of justice and due process issues tied to Kiwan’s “human trafficking” conviction, which was related to his illegal departure from Kuwait to avoid imprisonment. Despite this finding, the tribunal determined that Kiwan did not suffer any financial losses to his investments due to the breach, denied his claim for moral damages (such as reputational harm), and rejected all other claims he made. As a result, Kuwait successfully defended itself against Kiwan’s arbitration demands, as he received no compensation.{{Cite web |title=Kuwait defeats claim linked to 1MDB scandal |url=https://globalarbitrationreview.com/article/kuwait-defeats-claim-linked-1mdb-scandal |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Global Arbitration Review |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=العبدلي |first=حمد |date=2025-03-20 |title=«الفتوى والتشريع»: «التحكيم الدولي» رفضت دعوى بشار كيوان ضد الكويت |url=https://www.aljarida.com/article/93227/amp |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=AlJarida Newspaper}}

The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies identified Bashar Kiwan as part of a network of Syrians residing abroad who accomplished for the Assad regime functions of a dual nature, mainly in the financial and military sphere.{{Cite web |last=Hadaad |first=Wajih |date=June 2022 |title=Replacing the Old Business Elite With the New War Profiteers In Syria |url=https://www.harmoon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/the-new-war-profiteers-In-Syria.pdf |website=Harmoon Center for Contemporary Studies}}

Bashar Kiwan’s media partnership with Majd Suleiman, United Group for Publishing Advertising and Marketing, is regarded as the media and propaganda arm of the Assad regime in various Arab countries.

Bashar Kiwan was a member of the Syrian-Iranian Business Council (SIBC) and served as an intermediary for the Iranian regime to purchase real estate in Syria alongside his close business associate Mazen Al Tarazi.{{Cite web|title=Significant Economic Cooperation Between The Syrian Regime and Iran During 2018-19|url=https://omranstudies.org/publications/reports/significant-economic-cooperation-between-the-syrian-regime-and-iran-during-2018-19.html|access-date=2021-03-25|website=omranstudies.org|language=en-gb}} In March 2019, Mazen Al Tarazi was arrested in Kuwait and charged with money laundering.{{Cite web|date=2019-03-19|title=Syrian businessman linked to Bashar Al Assad arrested in Kuwait|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/syrian-businessman-linked-to-bashar-al-assad-arrested-in-kuwait-1.838976|access-date=2021-03-25|website=The National|language=en}}

Kiwan is married to French national Angelique Tournoud Kiwan, who he met on a ski trip in college. The couple has one son, Jad Kiwan. Angelique Tournoud co-founded fashion accessory brand LE MARAIS 101 with Zina Khair, the wife of Bashar Kiwan's business partner Majd Suleiman.{{Cite news |date=24 June 2005 |title=Syrian hardliner's family given visas for Canadian births: report |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/syrian-hardliner-s-family-given-visas-for-canadian-births-report-1.561982}}{{Cite web |title=OUR STORY |url=https://lemarais101.com/our-story/ |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Le Marais 101 - Our Story |language=en-US}}

• Comoros passport sales scheme
• Majd Bahjat Suleiman
• United Group (UG)

{{reflist}}

{{Comoros Passport Scandal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiwan, Muhammad Bashar}}

Category:Syrian chief executives

Category:Syrian businesspeople

Category:People named in the Panama Papers

Category:1966 births

Category:Fugitives wanted by Egypt

Category:Living people

Category:People named in the Paradise Papers

Category:Fugitives wanted by Kuwait

Category:Syrian people convicted of money laundering