Kuwaiti land deals in Bosnia under scrutiny over forest devastation and misled Gulf buyers

Young plants sprout from the bare soil from which trees have been removed. Melted snow on a January day trickles down the gullied gravel road in the village of Dobro in the municipality of Visoko, central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nothing except the inscription “Injazat” written on a huge stone in the middle of a meadow indicates the beginning of any construction.

Three years ago, excavators clearing the forest and dividing the land plots were filmed for a promotional video.

The Kuwaiti-owned company Poduhvati Budućnosti - Injazat Future purchased large amounts of land in Dobro, where excavators were filmed, at the end of 2021. According to cadastral map data, this company now owns about 60 hectares of land, which is roughly the size of 80 football fields.

However, according to the spatial plan, construction is prohibited on part of this location. The parcels are partially located on agricultural or forest land, and data from the spatial plan indicate that they are in a protected water source zone.

Our investigation reveals how Injazat, a Kuwaiti company, has opened several branches in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past 14 years. Through these companies, it has purchased agricultural, forest and construction plots from local residente and firms, parcelled them, cleared them, and offered them to buyers from Gulf countries at significantly higher prices. Buyers were told they could build houses on some of these plots, even though permits have never been secured for all of them.

Two forest-devastation cases

With idyllic scenes of Bosnian nature, Injazat attracts buyers from the Gulf through social media. On the company’s Instagram profile, video of forest clearing were shared as promotional material showing works in December 2022.

The company and individuals linked to it are now facing two forest-devastation cases.

The first indictment, filed in July 2025 by the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office of the Zenica-Doboj Canton, concerns alleged illegal cutting from May 2022 to May 2023 in the municipality of Visoko. According to the indictment, the company cut down forest on an area the size of five and a half football pitches, creating a barren area and causing damage estimated at around 31,000 Bosnian marks (BAM) – around €15,000 –  to the Cantonal Forestry Administration.

A second indictment, filed on 4 February 2026 by the same prosecutor’s office, concerns alleged illegal cutting in Dobro, also in Visoko municipality. This indictment states that tree cutting was carried out on an area equivalent to 25 football pitches. According to the indictment, biodiversity was disrupted, the survival of the forest and its ecological functions were endangered, and the defendants caused damage to the Cantonal Forestry Administration of nearly BAM 150,000 (around €76,730).

Both procedures are ongoing.

Illegal construction in Visoko

In 2022, in the same municipality, representatives of the Kuwaiti company in Bosnia and Herzegovina illegally began the construction of two buildings.

Salah Sulaiman Kshash Al-Nidawi, who holds managerial positions in three of the four companies owned by Abu Shaibah, was convicted and fined on final appeal with another person by the Municipal Court in Visoko for illegal construction in May 2023.

The court determined that during 2021, they, as responsible persons in the company, began the construction of several residential buildings in the area of Visoko without permits and contrary to the valid spatial planning documentation. 

They started the construction on agricultural land, outside the boundaries of the urban and construction area, the court response stated.

The defendants were fined BAM 4,000 (around €2,000) each.

Buyers complain on social media

Despite efforts to maintain a strong reputation through meetings with officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina and diplomatic contacts, comments on Injazat’s social media profiles point to a pattern of buyer dissatisfaction. Several users complain about the company’s lack of response to their questions or express their regrets about their purchase.

We know the Kuwaiti company Injazat Future, which advertises itself as specialising in real-estate sales, has several companies through which it operates in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Owned by Nayef Abu Shaibah, who presents himself in the media as the owner of the Kuwaiti company of the same name, these include Injazat Future, Senyar, Deema, and the company Nayef Abu Shaibah in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We sent questions about the companies’ operations and the criticisms to the available online contacts of Injazat Future. They also visited the company’s headquarters in Hadžići, where they left questions with employees. No response had been received by the time of publication.

Weak enforcement and illegal building

Aladin Abdagić, the editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN), who researched companies founded with capital from Middle Eastern countries that were investing in purchasing real estate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told us that by the beginning of 2019  slightly more than 1,600 such companies had been registered in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

CIN’s research at the time showed that some investors were illegally building large residential complexes.

“They exploited weaknesses in the domestic system, ignoring orders to stop the works and demolish the buildings. The owners of these complexes would get away with a verbal warning from local authorities, and the works would often be stopped only after they had built most of the planned villas,” Abdagić explained.

He added that the research showed that court cases against illegal builders were rare and ended with minimal fines.

Ten million for a couple of hectares of land in Breza

In the settlement of Sutješćica in Breza, the company Nayef Abu Shaibah bought about 2.5 hectares of land, roughly the size of 3.5 football pitches. On the website of Poduhvati Budućnosti - Injazat Future, the land was presented as residential. The company’s page showed plans for the construction of 43 houses and a mosque.

The company Nayef Abu Shaibah purchased one of the total two and a half hectares it owns in the area for BAM 60,500.

By reviewing the spatial plan, we discovered that this land is currently unsuitable for construction.

On Injazat’s website it is stated that the project costs 2 million Kuwaiti dinars – around BAM 11 million. The website states that the land has been sold, but the buildings shown in the illustration have not been constructed, even after six years.

Vedad Jusić, the mayor of Breza, said that land sales to Arab investors in that municipality began in 2013, when a group of local residents purchased larger amounts of land in areas that were not intended for construction at the time.

“Those plots were then further sold to other individuals, legal entities, companies, and foreign investors, who after a certain period sought their rights, that is, tried to resolve certain documentation in terms of construction,” Jusić told us.

The mayor said that, through municipal spatial plans, the municipality had tried to enable buyers to build in those areas, but did not succeed in the form they intended. During that period, the mayor of Breza was Halil Tuzlić, who has since died.

“However, for other reasons, whether because it is a landslide, forest land, or some other reason, they are not suitable at all, nor is it legally possible to build on them, and in those spatial planning documents they are listed as expanded construction or construction land, which now presents a problem for the municipality in terms of requests from certain entities to build on that land,” Vedad Jusić explains.

As shown in the spatial plan of Breza, which is valid until 2029, all of the plots purchased by the Kuwaiti company are located on endangered land. Construction is allowed only if the company completes geological surveys, rehabilitates the area, and obtains consent from the cantonal ministry confirming that the measures taken are sufficient and eliminate the danger.

According to the documentation reviewed, there was no data showing that the investor had completed this process for several plots by February 2026.

In practice, Jusić explained, this limitation could mean multimillion-mark investments for the owner in order to meet the conditions for construction.

Abu Shaibah donated a facade for the building of the Majlis (mosque) of the Islamic Community in Gračanica near Visoko in 2023, and also sponsored the Mladost football club from Župča in Breza.

Injazat was also the general sponsor of the Hadžići Summer event in 2025, for which the Municipality of Hadžići officially thanked the company on its Facebook profile.

Warnings from Kuwait

In a video posted on social media in August 2024, Kuwaiti attorney Fahad Al-Hadad warned the citizens of that country about what he described as ongoing real-estate scams in Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that most of the victims were Kuwaitis.

“Most of the affected people are Kuwaitis, especially in Bosnia,” said the attorney, who did not respond to our request for an interview. “They all sell farms, not houses. These lands are considered agricultural, not residential.”

In September 2023, Saudi influencer Khaled Al-Harbi, who describes himself on his profile as vice-president of the Consumer Awareness Raising Committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, posted under the alias “Abueyas” on TikTok that an alleged large-scale land-fraud scheme had been uncovered involving companies that allegedly earned millions by selling non-existent plots of land to investors around the world, specifying that this concerned Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In his post, he made allegations about unnamed companies operating in Bosnia. Al-Harbi stated that these companies manufacture fake documents of land ownership, often printed on simple green A4 sheets – “as Nayef shows his land” – and present them as official property records. We reached out to Al-Harbi, asking him to clarify his claims; to date, he did not respond.

In January 2026, Kuwaiti attorney Abdullah Alkhwash published a court ruling ordering a real-estate company and a Kuwaiti fashion influencer to pay around BAM 65,000 after they had jointly sold land in Bosnia and Herzegovina to a Kuwaiti citizen, which later proved unsuitable for construction.

Alkhwash told us that such companies sell land under the pretext that it is intended for residential construction, only for it to later turn out that the land is agricultural or forest land.

“I previously published warnings through my personal reports, emphasising the importance of caution, adhering to appropriate procedures, and conducting in-depth analysis before purchasing land or signing contracts,” Alkhwash said. “It should be noted that all the cases I filed against these companies have been successful and none has been lost,” he said, without naming the companies. He added that there are several final rulings in similar real-estate fraud cases.

“Some of them order companies to terminate sales contracts due to failure to fulfill contractual obligations related to the construction of villas according to the agreed specifications. Other judgments annul sales contracts after it was determined that the land was not intended for residential construction, and the companies were ordered to return the amounts paid along with compensation.”

Due to the trend of fraudulent practices in Kuwait, at the end of 2024 the then minister of commerce and industry, Halifa Abdullah Al-Ajil, issued a recommendation stipulating that real estate can only be advertised with the owner’s consent, with accurate and complete information, and with notification of competent authorities.

The recommendation states, among other things, that it is forbidden to conceal defects that affect the value of the property or the decision to purchase. The Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce did not respond to our request to clarify the warning.

A network of companies

The headquarters of Injazat Future, most often represented by Nayef Abu Shaibah, is in Kuwait, at an address in the Mousa Trade Center. According to its website, the company also operates in Egypt, Georgia, Germany and Turkey. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Injazat has a company with the same name and several companies with the same owner and address.

The oldest company bears the name Nayef Abu Shaibah and was founded in 2012, originally in Visoko, before its headquarters were transferred to Hadžići in 2022. Senyar was established two years later, while Poduhvati Budućnosti – Injazat Future was founded in 2015. Deema is the youngest company owned by Abu Shaibah and was established in July 2022.

On Injazat’s website, the company states that it owns land in 107 locations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, most of which, according to the website, has already been sold. Despite these claimed sales, two of Abu Shaibah’s three companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina operated at a loss in 2024. Only the company bearing his name ended the previous year with more than BAM 100,000 (around €51,100) in profit.

According to 2023 data, Senyar recorded a loss of around BAM 300,000. Deema had a deficit of BAM 10,000 in the same year.

Official accounts show that Poduhvati Budućnosti - Injazat Future was growing rapidly in balance-sheet terms between 2022 and 2024. Its assets rose from more than BAM 33 million to more than BAM 51 million, suggesting that the company accumulated property or other assets during this period. But this growth was matched, and slightly exceeded, by a rise in liabilities, which climbed from more than BAM 35 million to more than BAM 54 million. In other words, the expansion was not accompanied by stronger financial results. On the contrary, the company reported growing annual losses: more than BAM 500,000 in 2022, over BAM 700,000 in 2023 and almost BAM 900,000 in 2024.

Taken together, the figures raise questions about the company’s financial position. They show an increase in assets, consistent with continued land acquisition or revaluation, but also a parallel increase in liabilities and worsening losses. Without the full financial statements, it is not possible to determine the source of the liabilities or the precise nature of the assets. But the available data suggest that the company’s growth was not matched by profitable activity.

We received no response to emails sent to Injazat Future. Attempts to contact the company via WhatsApp and other networks were also unsuccessful.

Selling Bosnia to Gulf buyers

Abu Shaibah’s company Injazat Future sells plots to investors from the Gulf, mainly targeting middle-income buyers with affordable prices starting at $10,500, around €8,500.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s laws prohibit foreigners from directly owning land, leaving buyers the possibility of registering land in the name of a local company.

In response to these restrictions, Abu Shaibah offers two options: registering land in the name of the Injazat company, with a waiver agreement giving the buyer full usage rights, or establishing a Bosnian company owned by the buyer – although he does not recommend this because of what he describes as “high taxes and lengthy procedures”.

On Injazat’s social media channels, Abu Shaibah has told potential buyers from the Gulf that obtaining permits takes about a month and that the company offers turnkey construction services. He promotes investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a strategic opportunity, claiming that the country’s potential entry into the EU could increase real-estate values several times.

His marketing relies heavily on social media campaigns and relations with authorities. In one post, the Bosnian ambassador to Kuwait, Nusret Cančar, also appears. “It was a collective reception. They were interested in possible changes and further forms of cooperation, and I informed them. Injazat was also there at the time. And I, nor anyone else, have the authority to make a selection of whom we will receive and whom we will not receive. It was a public meeting, and everyone who was interested attended, including this gentleman, among others,” Cančar told us.

Political access and unanswered questions

In October 2025, the owner of the Poduhvati Budućnosti - Injazat Future met with the Prime Minister of the Zenica-Doboj Canton, Nezir Pivić, and Ahamn Alshlimiy, a civil servant in the Government of Kuwait.

Abu Shaibah was introduced as a Kuwaiti investor who said he was satisfied with the investment environment but that “there are obstacles of administrative nature that slow down new investments and business expansion.”

“Before the meeting and also after the meeting with Mr. Abu Shaibah, I was not aware that any proceedings had been conducted against the Poduhvati Buducnosti - Injazat Future company […]. I met Mr. Abu Shaibah for the first time at a meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office held on 14 October 2025, and after that meeting we had no contact,” Pivić, told us.

Abu Shaibah also posted photos on Injazat’s social media showing him with Adil Osmanović, a long-time SDA official who is currently a member of the House of Peoples of Republika Srpska and a secretary in the Naprijed party. In the same post, there are also photos with the mayor of Breza, Vedad Jusić, the mayor of Visoko, Mirza Ganić, and former mayors of Ilijaš, Akif Fazlić, and Vogošća, Edin Smajić. Ganić had met Nayef Abu Shaibah just two weeks before the video of deforestation in Dobro was published. On that occasion, Abu Shaibah was also presented with a gift. Ganić did not respond to our request to discuss his contacts with the owner of the Kuwaiti company.

Osmanović confirmed that he attended a meeting with businessmen at the Malak Hotel, where a Kuwaiti sheikh whose name he did not mention, the owner of Injazat, and several municipal mayors were present.

“At that time, I was a member of the House of Representatives, and when inviting me, they told me that, in addition to businessmen, representatives of the Kuwaiti parliament would also be there.” He added that investment opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina were discussed at the meeting.

“Businessmen and the sheikh were particularly interested in the possibility of exporting chicken meat to Kuwait as well as the possibility of investing in agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Osmanović told us, adding that he has had no other contact with the owner of Injazat.

Diplomatic contacts

In 2017, Abu Shaibah also met the former Bosnian ambassador to Kuwait, Mehmed Halilović. According to the portal Istraga, Halilović made a decision in 2017 under which money donated by Kuwait to Bosnia and Herzegovina was paid in cash instead of being transferred through accounts. From then until 2023, at least €1.2 million disappeared, according to the same portal. The former ambassador said he does not remember signing anything.

Halilović told us that, following an inquiry from Kuwait, he advocated for a law exempting Kuwaitis from reciprocity rules, which would allow them to buy land and real estate in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He could not remember the details of the meeting with Nayef Abu Shaibah.

“I met him in a way that the previous ambassador recommended him, and he had some continuity related to Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that time, he was an investor; they had a company and an office in Kuwait, and I left Kuwait in 2018. I know that some friends told me that they have some buildings in Visoko, that they have buildings in Hadzici, that they have buildings –  now I’m not sure – I think also in Ilijas,” Halilović said.

Asked about the disappearance of money from the Kuwaiti embassy, Halilović said he had replied to Avdo Avdić, editor-in-chief of Istraga

“The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has an ongoing case related to allegations of misuse of donations from Kuwait. The case is in the verification phase, no prosecutorial decision has been made,” the Public Relations Department of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina told us.
Court proceedings and legal barriers that prevent construction on locations owned by companies linked to Kuwaiti capital have not stopped Abu Shaibah from continuing to promote the natural beauty of Bosnia and Herzegovina to buyers from Gulf countries.

“Snow season in Bosnia, the land of beauty,” reads one of the company’s latest Instagram posts in Arabic, alongside a video of a snow-covered forest road. Meanwhile, buyers in the Gulf are still receiving promotional content while court proceedings are ongoing.

🤝 This investigation was produced in collaboration with the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), with the support of Journalismfund Europe. It has been published first on Detektor.