Mazen Al-Tarazi

Mazen Samir Al Tarazi (Arabic: مازن الترزي; born in September 1962), also known as Mazen Al Tarazi, is a Syrian-Canadian businessman with close ties to the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. He has significant activities in the media sector in Kuwait. He is the founder and CEO of Marketing Group for Advertising, Publishing and Distribution and the Dar al-Hadaf Newspaper Company, which he founded with Kuwaiti businessman Ahmed Al-Jarallah. Until December 2022, he was a board member of Dar Al Seyassah Company for Printing, Publishing and Distribution WLL in Kuwait, the publisher of the Arab Times and Al-Seyassah newspapers. He is sanctioned by the United Kingdom and EU for his material support to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.[1][2]

Mazen Al Tarazi
مازن سمير الترزي
Born
Mazen Samir Tarazi

(1962-09-01) September 1, 1962
Saidnaya, Syria
NationalitySyrian
CitizenshipSyria - Canada
Known for
  • Al-Hadaf Magazine
  • Marota City
  • Alwataniya Air (National Airline Company LLC, Syria)

Background

Mazen Al Tarazi was born in Damascus in 1962, and he started his career in Kuwait as a printing press worker at Al Anba and Al Rai newspapers, then as a manager at Al Waseet classified advertising paper owned by Syrian businessman Bashar Kiwan. He then became a manager at Al-Seyassah . He later partnered with the owner of Al-Seyassah, Kuwaiti businessman Ahmed Al-Jarallah, to launch weekly magazine Al-Hadaf operating under Dar al-Hadaf Newspaper Company.[3][4][5] He was named in the Panama Papers as the sole owner of First Kingston Investments Ltd., registered in the British Virgin Islands.[6] He is partner in Al-Waseet classifieds paper in Jordan with Syrian-French businessman Bashar Kiwan[7]

Mazen Al Tarazi developed close ties to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. He was relatively unknown in Syria until 2014, when he provided a private plane to transport Syrians from Kuwait to Syria to vote for Bashar al-Assad in presidential elections. In 2015, he acquired Sheraton Ma'aret Sednaya Hotel & Resort. In 2017 his company National Airline Company LLC was granted a license for Syria's second private airline, Alwataniya Air.[8][9][10]

Most notably, Mazen Al-Tarazi partnered with Damascus Governorate and Damascus Cham Private Joint Stock Company in reconstructing a new city, Marota City, in the Basateen al-Razi area in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, in two projects. The first is a $250m, 120,000 sqm shopping mall and six other buildings, and the second are give properties worth $70m.[10][11]

Controversies

Sanctions

In 2019 Al Tarazi was sanctioned by the European Union.[12] In 2020, he was sanctioned by the United Kingdom "benefitting from and/or supporting the Syrian regime."[13] In 2021, the EU General Court dismissed an application by Mazen Al Tarazi to annul his inclusion in the Syria sanctions list.[1][14]

Arrest in Kuwait
ARAB TIMES - KUWAIT Twitter
@arabtimeskuwait

Severance of Relationship with Mazen Al Tarazi, a #Syrian national who also holds #Canadian citizenship

6 December 2022[15]

In March 2019, Kuwaiti authorities arrested Mazen Al Tarazi and four employees of Al-Hadaf Magazine after the magazine's headquarters were raided, reportedly on charges of money laundering and publishing without a license.[16] In March 2019, the Arab Times, owned by Al Tarazi's business partner Ahmed Al-Jarallah published an article describing the allegations of money laundering against of Al Tarazi as "concocted lies, as several bloggers have raised unfounded allegations in the past against notable personalities in the country, which clearly damaged their reputations and defamed their personalities".[17] In December 2022, Al-Jarallah released a statement in his newspaper, the Arab Times announcing his "severance of any relationship with the so-called Mazen Al Tarazi".[18]

References
  1. KC, Maya Lester (2021-04-30). "EU Court upholds listing of a Syrian businessman". EU Sanctions. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  2. "Mazen Al Tarzi | Kuwait | Decypha - Don't miss any updates from Decypha. Get your account today to stay up-to-date with your interest!". www.decypha.com. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  3. Simeon Djankov, Caralee McLiesh, Tatiana Nenova, Andrei Shleifer. (October 2003). "Who Owns The Media?" Journal of Law and Economics, XLVI(2). Media data country files.
  4. Arab Press Network: Kuwait Archived August 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Seale, Patrick. Abu Nidal: a gun for hire. Random House, 1992. p. 130
  6. "MAZIN AL-TARAZI | ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database". offshoreleaks.icij.org. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  7. "Significant Economic Cooperation Between The Syrian Regime and Iran During 2018-19". omranstudies.org. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  8. Al-Lababidi, Mahmoud (April 2019). "Damascus Businessmen: The Phantoms of Marota City" (PDF). European University Institute, Wartime and Post-Conflict in Syria (WPCS).
  9. "Syrian businessman seeks to establish own airline". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  10. Valeria Talbot (2019). Rebuilding Syria: The Middle East's Next Power Game?. Eugenio Dacrema. OAPEN: Ledizioni. p. 43. ISBN 978-88-5526-058-9. OCLC 1229501937.
  11. Vignal, Leïla (2021). War-torn : the unmaking of Syria, 2011-2021. London. ISBN 978-1-78738-579-5. OCLC 1273337356.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. "Syria is ready to court investors, but Europe wants to prevent that". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  13. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, HM Treasury -- CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1093776/syria.pdf
  14. "CURIA - List of results". curia.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  15. ARAB TIMES - KUWAIT [@arabtimeskuwait] (6 December 2022). "Severance of Relationship with Mazen Al Tarazi, a #Syrian national who also holds #Canadian citizenship" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. "Syrian businessman linked to Bashar Al Assad arrested in Kuwait". AFP. 19 March 2019.
  17. "Mazen Al-Tarazi set free without bail". ARAB TIMES - KUWAIT NEWS. 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  18. "Severance of Relationship with Mazen Al Tarazi". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
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