Jassim Mohammad al Bahar, one of the most high-profile businessmen of Kuwait, has died in Portugal at the age of 66.
Mr Bahar held billion-dollar investments in Europe, the Arab world and elsewhere, notably South Africa. His death on Wednesday was reported by local media over the weekend, although no cause was given.
Mr Bahar was a board member of Kingdom Hotel Investments, which is controlled by Prince Al Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, and he owned shares in Nakheel's Palm Jumeirah project.
Since 2002, Mr Bahar worked as chairman of International Financial Advisors (IFA), an investment company with interests across several sectors. He chaired affiliates of IFA Hotels and Resorts in Lebanon and South Africa, and also served as chairman of United Investments Portugal.
The group has many subsidiaries, most of which are listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and have an estimated market value of US$4 billion (Dh14.68bn).
His company recently expanded into South Africa and this year IFA invested approximately $500 million in the Zimbali Coastal Resort in KwaZulu-Natal, a development comprising residential space, a five-star hotel and a golf course.
IFA also acquired 19.25 per cent in the Boschendal Estate in 2006, a winery with tourist facilities. In August last year, IFA acquired a 50 per cent stake in the Legend Golf and Safari Resort in the Entabeni Game Reserve.
Mr Bahar is survived by his wife and four children.
His father, Mohammad Abdul Rahman al Bahar, is worth $1.4bn, according to last year's Forbes billionaires list.
His father also chairs the National Bank of Kuwait, the emirate's largest bank, and Al Bahar Group of Companies, a conglomerate.
* With Agence France-Presse
@Email:abakr@thenational.ae
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if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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