Muhammad Bashar Kiwan (; born November 30, 1966), known as ''Bachar Kiwan'', is a Syrian-French convicted felon,

fraudster In law, fraud is intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover mone ...

, and international fugitive. He is sought by the authorities in the Comoros Islands for his criminal convictions, which include money laundering, fraud, and embezzlement of public funds stemming from his role in masterminding the

Comoros passport sales scandal The Comoros passport sales scandal is a corruption, public funds embezzlement, bribery, and money laundering scheme in connection with a citizenship by investment program launched by the government of the Comoros Islands. Proceeds from the progr ...

. Additionally, he has been convicted in Kuwait of various white-collar crimes, including money laundering, criminal fraud, forgery, and bribery. Formerly a businessman, Kiwan was also a

propagandist Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

for the

Assad regime Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the one-party rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. From 1971 until its collapse in 2024, it was rule ...

, owning and operating media companies in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

that served as the propaganda arm of the Syrian government under

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

. His former positions include chairman of the Syrian Business Council in Kuwait,

Honorary Consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

in Kuwait, and member of the Syrian-Iranian Business Council.

Early life and education

Muhammad Bashar Kiwan was born in 1966 to Syrian parents in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. He received a master's degree in economics from the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and speaks fluent

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Career

In 1992, he established ''Al-Waseet'', a

classified advertising Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements use ...

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 The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Additionally, it launched editions under the name ''Al Wasila'' in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. 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 Bahjat Suleiman (; 194925 February 2021) was a Syrian diplomat and former military officer. He served as the head of the internal branch of the General Intelligence Directorate (Syria), General Intelligence Directorate (GID), also known as Syrian ...

). Regarded as the media arm of the

in various Arab countries, United Group (UG) publishes the government-aligned ''

Baladna ''Baladna'' () is a privately owned, government-aligned Arabic daily newspaper published in Syria. The paper has also an English edition which was launched in December 2009 but later shut down. History and profile The owner and publisher of '' ...

'' newspaper in Syria, and published the defunct ''Al-Balad'' newspaper in Lebanon, Kuwait, and the Comoros. 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. Their businesses include Al Waseet International, AWI Holding Limited, Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH), Comoro Gulf Aviation, Dagher and Kiwan General Trading, and Jad & Jana (France). In the

, United Group (UG) affiliate Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH) worked closely with former Comorian president

Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi Sayyid Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi (, born 5 June 1958) is a Comorian Islamic leader and politician, who served as the eighth President of Comoros from 2006 to 2011. He is popularly known as 'Ayatollah'. After easily winning the 14 May 2006 ...

, and "monopolized investment and development on the islands." 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. Kiwan and Suleiman also established AWI Company, also known as AWI Group, an affiliate of United Group (UG) based in Dubai Media City. 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''. The group planned for an IPO in 2012 but stopped due to Syrian civil war.

Criminal activity

Comoros Islands

Kiwan was the mastermind behind an economic citizenship program that he launched with his close associate, former Comorian president Abdullah Sambi. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Abu Dhabi

Kiwan has reportedly been arrested and investigated in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

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.

Kuwait

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. Shortly thereafter, Kiwan illegally fled Kuwait, and in January 2018, three individuals were arrested for aiding his escape. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Iranian and Syrian Assad regime links

Syria

The

Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) is an Arab research institute with particular interest in the social sciences, applied social sciences, regional history and geostrategic affairs. To this effect, the ACRPS coordinates and de ...

identified Bashar Kiwan as part of a network of Syrians residing abroad who accomplished for the

functions of a dual nature, mainly in the financial and military sphere. 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.

Iran

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. In March 2019, Mazen Al Tarazi was arrested in Kuwait and charged with money laundering.

Personal life

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiwan, Muhammad Bashar Syrian chief executives Syrian businesspeople People named in the Panama Papers 1966 births University of Montpellier alumni Fugitives wanted by Egypt Living people People named in the Paradise Papers Fugitives wanted by Kuwait Syrian people convicted of money laundering