Comoros passport sales scandal

Last updated
Front cover of a Comorian passport Comorian Passport.png
Front cover of a Comorian passport

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. [1] Proceeds from the program were intended to finance development in the country but were instead embezzled by the perpetrators of the scheme, which include Syrian fugitive businessman Bashar Kiwan and two former Comorian Presidents. [2]

Contents

The 2008 Comoros Economic Citizenship bill that established the citizenship by investment program was originally marketed to the Comoran National Assembly by the perpetrators as an opportunity to draw inbound investment into the Comoros from wealthy Gulf investors, but after its passage was promoted to the governments of UAE and Kuwait as a deal to sell Comoran citizenships en masse so they could be freely distributed among the bedoon (stateless) residents of those countries. Additionally, thousands of passports were alleged to have been sold outside formal channels by 'mafia' networks, [1] to individuals including Iranians who were involved in sectors that had been targeted by international sanctions against Iran, [3] prompting concerns amongst diplomats and security officials in the west that the program was used by Iranians to evade sanctions. [4]

In 2018, the Comoros government announced in an official statement that Comorian citizenship had been sold to 52,000 foreigners, and that the government should have received $260 million in revenues, a sum equivalent to 40% of its gross domestic product. To date, large amounts of cash cannot be accounted for. [5]

The passports were printed in Belgium by Semlex Group, a Belgian biometric document-maker owned and operated by Syrian-Belgian businessman Albert Karaziwan. [6]

The program was suspended by Comoros President Azali Assoumani following his victory in the 2016 Comorian presidential election. [2]

In August 2018, Comoros ex-president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, Syrian-French businessman Bachar Kiwan, and several other associates were formally charged with corruption and embezzling public funds in connection with the Comoros passport sales scheme. [3]

From 21 to 24 November 2022, Ahmed Abdullah Sambi, Bashar Kiwan, Majd Suleiman, and other directors of Comoro Gulf Holdings were tried for high treason, embezzlement and money laundering of Comorian public funds allegedly diverted from the economic citizenship program. [7] [8] Sambi was found guilty and sentenced to life in imprisonment, former Vice President Mohamed Ali Soilihi was sentenced to 20 years, and Bashar Kiwan was sentenced to 10 years. [9]

Background

Origin

Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH) and 2008 Comoros Economic Citizenship Law

Comoran ex-President (2006-2011) Ahmed Abdallah Sambi Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi detail 080701-F-1644L-150.jpg
Comoran ex-President (2006-2011) Ahmed Abdallah Sambi

The origin of the Comoros passport sales scheme can be traced to French-Syrian businessman Muhammad Bashar Kiwan, who in 2006 began to lobby the Comoros legislature to enact a controversial citizenship by investment scheme in which his close associate, Comoros ex-President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi would have discretion to grant citizenships. [10] Promises of an investment of more than $100 million on behalf of wealthy Gulf investors were made by Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH), a Kuwait-registered firm operated by Bashar Kiwan, to sell the legislation to Comoran lawmakers. In 2008, Said Attoumani, the former Comoran minister responsible for promoting foreign investment, praised the expected $100 million from wealthy Gulf investors in support of the prospective law. [10] [11] In a Comoran parliament debate in July 2008, the parliament rejected the proposed economic citizenship law, claiming that it would be equivalent to auctioning off Comorian nationality. [12]

Comoro Gulf Holdings executives Bashar Kiwan, Majd Suleiman, Sheikh Sabah Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah, and Mohammed Al-Otaibi, pictured during a dinner with members of the Comoran parliament at the Sheraton Hotel, Kuwait City, in October 2008. CGH Sheraton Kuwait.jpeg
Comoro Gulf Holdings executives Bashar Kiwan, Majd Suleiman, Sheikh Sabah Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah, and Mohammed Al-Otaibi, pictured during a dinner with members of the Comoran parliament at the Sheraton Hotel, Kuwait City, in October 2008.

The new law was passed in November 2008 after a number of "fact-finding" missions by Comoran politicians to Kuwait and the UAE organized by Comoro Gulf Holdings partners Bachar Kiwan, Majd Suleiman, Sheikh Sabah Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah and Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, [10] [12] in which "deputies received laptops and other gifts." [13] After passage of the law, the former secretary-general of the Comoros parliament, Aboubacar Said Salim, was hired by Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH). [14] [13]

Comoros ex-President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi with French-Syrian businessman Bashar Kiwan at the Said Mohamed Cheikh stadium in 2009 Ahmed Abdallah Sambi and Bashar Kiwan.webp
Comoros ex-President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi with French-Syrian businessman Bashar Kiwan at the Said Mohamed Cheikh stadium in 2009

In a 2009 leaked diplomatic cable, US diplomatic officials in Comoros asked their colleagues in the Gulf for more information on Bachar Kiwan, whose company, Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH) "actively and openly lobbied for a controversial 'economic citizenship law' that appeared to be rejected, then was passed at the National Assembly." [10] [13]

The US cable added:

"Taken at face value, CGH is a limited-funding promoter with a long-term vision of the Comoros as a Gulf tourist destination. Given years of stagnant economic growth, it is unsurprising that President Sambi's government would welcome these investors. Even the active promotion to force through the economic citizenship law could be viewed in terms of investment promotion and assurances. Still, something does not add up and it is worth investigating whether CGH's growing influence in the Comoros is completely benign." [13]

Ahmed Abdallah Sambi worked closely with Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH) during his presidency (2006 - 2011), during which the company monopolized investment and development in Comoros, controlling major portions of the media, banking, tourism, travel and construction industries. [15] In 2007, Sambi appointed Kiwan to the post of Honorary Consul of Comoros for Kuwait. [16]


Sales

The Bedoon

After passage of the economic citizenship law, Bachar Kiwan marketed the opportunity to purchase Comorian passports en masse to the governments of Kuwait and the UAE, for distribution to their local Bedoon (stateless resident) populations. [4] [12] According to ex-President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, the UAE pledged to $200 million in exchange for the naturalisation of 4,000 Bidoon families who would obtain Comorian citizenship documents. [12] [17] In 2014, Mazen Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, assistant undersecretary for citizenship and passport affairs at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior announced in an interview that the Kuwaiti government was negotiating with Comoros to offer its Bedoon citizenship in exchange for economic benefits. [18] He said that the process would start as soon as a Comoros embassy was opened in Kuwait in the next few months. [19] The plan was ultimately scrapped after being criticized by Kuwaiti lawmakers. [20]

Iran

Comoros passports bought by Iranians [4]
YearNumber issued
20081
200966
201077
2011332
2012279
2013385
201445
20154

According to documents reviewed by Reuters, more than 300 Comoros passports were sold to Iranians while Ahmed Abdallah Sambi was president. Under his successor, Ikililou Dhoinine, passport sales to Iranians continued. [4] Comoran Foreign Minister Souef Mohamed El Amine said that the "vast majority of people who secured passports (outside the official program) are of Iranian origin or are working for Iran," a situation which had "created problems for Comoros with regard to our partners in the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates". [5]

Parliamentary inquiry

In 2016, Azali Assoumani was elected president and in 2017 set up a parliamentary commission of inquiry to investigate the program providing citizenship to the UAE and Kuwait for the Bidoon. The commission summoned Albert Karaziwan, the owner and CEO of Semlex Group, the company that had printed the Comoran passports in September 2017, hoping he would give evidence. Semlex said Karaziwan would be available for questioning in November, but he did not attend for questioning. [21] In 2018, the commission published a report that found that the UAE had informed the Comoros authorities in 2013 that hundreds of passports had been sold outside the Bidoon program. [4] The report accused former Comoran presidents Ahmed Abdullah Sambi and Ikililou Dhoinine with "involvement in systematic fraud" and called for criminal action against the pair. [2] The report claimed that thousands of passports had been sold outside official channels by 'mafia networks' [1] and up to $100 million in revenues from the sale of passports was not received by the government and had gone missing. [4] The report also claimed Ahmed Abdullah Sambi and Bachar Kiwan embezzled $105 million and $29 million respectively from the passport sales scheme. [2] The state was found to have suffered $971 million in lost revenue due to mismanagement and corruption, about 80% of gross domestic product. [2]

According to Foreign Minister Souef Mohamed El Amine:

"There was money that never reached the treasury. We need the money back from the people who profited – including the foreigners." [4]

The parliamentary inquiry found that more than 2,800 Comoros diplomatic passports had been issued since 2008, which was unusually high for a country with a population of about 800,000. [21] In the same period, at least 184 diplomatic passports were sold to non-Comorans. [21]

Prosecution

In January 2018, Belgian police searched the headquarters of Semlex Group in Brussels, as well as the home of Albert Karaziwan. A spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor said the searches were in connection to a case of possible money laundering and corruption. [22] In May 2018, Comoros law enforcement officials raided the offices of Semlex Group in Comoros as part of their investigation into passport sales. [4] The parliamentary inquiry had concluded that former president Sambi's nephew "was able to go and print as many passports as he wanted" at Semlex's printing facility in Belgium. [2]

In August 2018, Comoros authorities charged former president Ahmed Abdullah Sambi and Bachar Kiwan with corruption, embezzlement of public funds and forgery related to the sales of Comoros passports. [23] Sambi was jailed, and in September 2018 appealed to the Supreme Court to be granted unrestricted access to his lawyer to defend himself in the corruption case. [23]

From 21 to 24 November 2022, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, Mohamed Ali Soilihi, Bashar Kiwan, Majd Suleiman, and other directors of Comoro Gulf Holdings were tried for high treason, embezzlement and money laundering of Comorian public funds allegedly diverted from the economic citizenship program. [7] [8] Sambi was found guilty and sentenced to life in imprisonment, former Vice President Mohamed Ali Soilihi was sentenced to 20 years, and Bashar Kiwan was sentenced to 10 years. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azali Assoumani</span> President of Comoros

Azali Assoumani is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as President of the Comoros since April 2019. He was also president from 2002 to 2006 and 2016 to February 2019. He became head of state after staging a coup d'état in 1999 and was elected president in 2002, 2016 and April 2019. He has also served as Chairperson of the African Union since February 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Abdallah</span> President of the Comoros from 1978 to 1989

Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane was a top Comorian politician. He was a member of the French Senate from 1959 to 1973, and President of the Comoros from 25 October 1978 until his assassination in 1989.

Colonel Mohamed Bacar is a Comorian former politician who was President of Anjouan, one of the three autonomous islands that make up the Union of the Comoros, from 2001 to 2008. He is a former chief of police on Anjouan and has studied extensively in France and the United States. He was part of a military coup on Anjouan in August 2001 and soon became President. It is alleged he rigged the elections to become the first president of Anjouan in March 2002, in part due to his leading role in the separatist movement. He was ousted by the combined forces of the Government of the Union of Comoros and the African Union in the March 2008 invasion of Anjouan.

<i>Al-Balad</i> (newspaper) Daily newspaper in Lebanon

Al-Balad officially Sada Al-Balad was an Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon. It was headquartered in Beirut and was published as a tabloid commercial paper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi</span> Former President of the Comoros

Sayyid Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi is a Comorian Islamic leader and politician, and former President of Comoros. He is popularly known as 'Ayatollah'. After easily winning the 14 May 2006 presidential election with 58.02% of the national vote, Sambi was inaugurated as President of the Union of the Comoros on 26 May 2006. It was the first peaceful transfer of power in the history of the Comoros.

Hassane Hamadi is a politician in Comoros. He was appointed Minister of Finance under Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi as of Sambi's inauguration on 28 May 2006.

The Comoros is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa. France first established colonial rule in the Comoros in 1841. Agreement was reached with France in 1973 for the Comoros to become independent in 1978. On July 6, 1975, but the Comorian parliament passed a unilateral resolution declaring independence. The deputies of Mayotte, which remained under French control, abstained. Referendums on all four of the islands excluding Mayotte showed strong support for independence. Ahmed Abdallah proclaimed the Comoros' independence on September 5, 1975 and became its first president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 invasion of Anjouan</span> Military operation in the Comoros islands

The invasion of Anjouan, on March 25, 2008, was an amphibious assault led by the Comoros, backed by African Union (AU) forces, including troops from Sudan, Tanzania, Senegal, along with logistical support from Libya and France. The objective of the invasion was to topple Colonel Mohamed Bacar's leadership in Anjouan, an island in the Union of Comoros, when he refused to step down after a disputed 2007 election, in defiance of the federal government and the AU. The Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean has had a fractious history since its independence from France in 1975, experiencing more than 20 coups or attempted coups.

This page list topics related to Comoros.

Combo Ayouba, also referred to as Ayouba Combo, was a Comorian colonel and senior member of the Military of Comoros. He was one of the highest-ranking military officers in the Comoros at the time of his assassination in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ikililou Dhoinine</span> Comorian politician

Ikililou Dhoinine is a Comorian politician who was the President of the Comoros from 2011 to 2016; he was a Vice-President of Comoros from 2006 to 2011.

The Bedoon or Bidoon, fully Bidoon jinsiya, are stateless people in several Middle Eastern countries, but particularly in Kuwait, where there is a large population of stateless people who lack access to many of the country's basic services. It is widely believed that the Bedoon issue in Kuwait is sectarian in nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comorian passport</span> Passport issued to citizens of the Union of the Comoros

The Comorian passport is issued to citizens of the Union of the Comoros for international travel. As of 1 January 2017, Comorian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 48 countries and territories, ranking the Comorian passport 88th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley visa restrictions index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juwa Party</span> Political party in the Comoros

The Juwa Party is a political party in the Comoros. The party was established by former president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi in 2013 and became the main opposition party in 2015. After boycotting the 2020 elections, it currently has no representation in parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Bashar Kiwan</span> Syrian convicted fraudster and fugitive

Muhammad Bashar Kiwan, known as Bachar Kiwan, is a Syrian-French convicted felon, fraudster, and international fugitive. He is sought by the authorities in the Comoros Islands for criminal convictions for money laundering, fraud, and public funds embezzlement in connection with his role in masterminding the Comoros passport sales scandal and in Kuwait for criminal convictions relating to various white collar crimes including money laundering, criminal fraud, forgery, and bribery. He is a former businessman and Assad regime propagandist, having invested in and operated media companies in the Arab world that served as the propaganda arm of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. He previously held the positions of chairman of the Syrian Business Council in Kuwait, Honorary Consul of Comoros for Kuwait, and was a member of the Syrian-Iranian Business Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comorian nationality law</span>

Comorian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of the Comoros, as amended; the Comorian Nationality Code, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of the Comoros. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Comorian nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in the Comoros, or jus sanguinis, born abroad to parents with Comorian nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization. The country no longer allows for nationality to be acquired through investment.

Majd Bahjat Suleiman, also known as Majd Suleiman or Majid Suleiman, is a Dubai-based Syrian businessman and son of the former Syrian ambassador to Jordan and intelligence chief Bahjat Suleiman. He is the owner of Syria's largest media conglomerate, United Group (UG) which also operates under the trade name AWI Company and is affiliated with Al Waseet International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comoro Gulf Holdings</span>

Comoro Gulf Holdings (CGH), sometimes referred to as Comoros Gulf Holding or Comoro Gulf Holding, was an investment company, set up by Syrian businessmen Bachar Kiwan and Majd Suleiman and Kuwaiti businessmen Sheikh Sabah Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah and Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, that had worked closely with former Comorian president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, and "monopolized investment and development on the islands."

Mohamed Ali Soilihi is a Comorian politician from Grande Comore who served as Vice-President of Union of the Comoros for Ministry of Finance, Budget, Foreign Trade and Economy of Comoros. He served in the cabinet of Ikililou Dhoinine from May 2011 to May 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in the Comoros</span>

Corruption in the Comoros follows the familiar patterns of state-based corruption, namely government officials abusing their political powers for private gain in the country of Comoros.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Exclusive: Comoros passport scheme was unlawful, abused by 'mafia' networks - report". Reuters. 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Comoros ex-presidents embroiled in passport sale scandal". France 24 . 4 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Ex-Comoros president charged with graft in connection to passports scheme". Reuters. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "As sanctions bit, Iranian executives bought African passports". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  5. 1 2 "Comoros says abuse of passports-for-cash scheme worries Gulf allies". Reuters. 2018-01-20. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  6. ↑ Bussche (Apache), Mark Anderson (OCCRP), Khadija Sharife (OCCRP) and Steven Vanden. "The Optimist Without Borders: Inside the Semlex CEO's Empire of Influence". OCCRP. Retrieved 2022-07-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 "Comoros Ex-leader Refuses To Attend High Treason Trial". AFP News . November 22, 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Comores : l'ancien président Sambi jugé pour «haute trahison»". Le Figaro . November 21, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Comoros ex-president Sambi jailed for life for 'high treason'". MSN. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Salisbury, Peter (19 November 2015). "Inside the $100 Million Scheme to Send the Middle East's Most Unwanted People to Africa". VICE News .
  11. ↑ "Citizenship for sale". Africa Intelligence. 10 July 2008.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Abrahamian, Atossa Araxia (11 November 2015). "The bizarre scheme to transform a remote island into the new Dubai". The Guardian .
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Gulf Investment Group Influence in the Comoros" (PDF). 5 January 2009.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ↑ "Aboubacar Said Salim". Africa Intelligence. 12 December 2008.
  15. ↑ Lori, Noora (2019). Offshore citizens : permanent temporary status in the Gulf. Cambridge. p. 220. ISBN   978-1-108-63256-0. OCLC   1119537788.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ↑ Lori, Noora (2019). Offshore citizens : permanent temporary status in the Gulf. Cambridge. p. 221. ISBN   978-1-108-63256-0. OCLC   1119537788.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ↑ Kinstler, Linda (8 November 2015). "Passports to paradise". Politico .
  18. ↑ "The controversial plan to give Kuwait's stateless people citizenship of a tiny, poor African island". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  19. ↑ "Kuwait's stateless Bidun 'offered Comoros citizenship'". BBC News. 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  20. ↑ Weiner, Scott (20 October 2017). "The Politics of Kuwait's Bidoon Issue". Carnegie Endowment For International Peace.
  21. 1 2 3 "How to make millions selling passports to Africa". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  22. ↑ "Police search offices of Belgian company supplying passports to Africa". Reuters. 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  23. 1 2 "Comoros Ex-Leader Held Over Passport Sales Demands Lawyer Access". Bloomberg.com. 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.