Muhammad Bashar Kiwan
Muhammad Bashar Kiwan (born November 30, 1966), known as Bachar Kiwan, is a Syrian-French convicted felon, international fugitive, and businessman sought by the authorities in the Comoros Islands in connection with the Comoros Passport sales scandal and in Kuwait for criminal convictions relating to various white collar crimes including forgery and bribery. He is the founder and investor of companies in the fields of publicity and advertising operating in the Arab world including Al-Waseet International Company. He previously held the positions of chairman of the Syrian Business Council in Kuwait, Honorary Consul of Comoros for  Kuwait, and a member of the Syrian-Iranian Business Council Early life and education. Muhammad Bashar Kiwan was born in 1966 to Syrian parents and grew up in Kuwait. He received a master's degree in economics from the University of Montpellier in France and speaks fluent Arabic, French and English. Career. In 1992, he founded Al-Waseet newspaper for classified ads in Kuwait, and developed it from a classified weekly publication in Kuwait to a widespread newspaper in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Egypt, as well as editions of it under the name of  Al Wasila were issued in Saudi Arabia and Syria. Kiwan owned several companies in the fields of advertising & publishing and was the director of AWE holding in the Dubai International Financial Center in the United Arab Emirates and a founding partner in the United Group Company UG. Kiwan grew his business with the establishment of the United Group, which published a number of technical and advertising newspapers and magazines in Syria, and in other 12 countries. The group publications included Layalina, Baladna, Top Gear, Marie Claire, Fortune, al-Wasilah al-I’laniyyah, Concord Media for Road Advertisements, and the Al-Balad  newspaper in Lebanon and Kuwait, in addition to the al-Waseet advertising newspaper, which was the backbone of the group. The group planned for an IPO in 2012 but stopped due to Syrian civil war. Controversy. 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 indicted on charges related to embezzlement of millions of euros diverted from this program to Kiwan and his associates. Abu Dhabi. 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.   Iranian and Syrian regime links. 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.