Iraq shuts down Korek Telecom network over $1.5 billion debt

BAGHDAD,— Iraq’s telecommunications regulator moved Sunday to pull the plug on Korek Telecom, ordering the shutdown of the company’s main switching centers and cutting its services across 14 provinces outside the Kurdistan Region.

The action, confirmed by the Communications and Media Commission, targets a company controlled by Sirwan Barzani, nephew of former Kurdistan Region President and tribal leader Massoud Barzani and a figure long accused of building his fortune through family connections rather than honest business.

The commission said specialized teams had already closed four major exchanges, one each in Babil and Basra provinces, two in Baghdad, and the company’s main site in Kirkuk.

Officials said coordination was underway to shut Korek’s remaining switching centers in Nineveh province to complete the crackdown.

The result, the commission said, is a total loss of Korek network coverage in 14 provinces, with only the four provinces of the Kurdistan Region, including Halabja, spared.

The shutdown follows the expiration of a one-month grace period the commission granted in early October after a request from parliament.

That window gave Korek customers time to transfer their numbers to licensed competitors Asiacell and Zain Iraq through multi-SIM platforms before losing service entirely.

The commission had warned Korek customers back in August to prepare for disruption, saying it would pursue legal action by the end of September over the company’s refusal to pay roughly $1.5 billion in outstanding license fees and other financial obligations.

Enforcement actions against Korek actually began in late 2023, when regulators cut the company’s internet service outside the Kurdistan Region and blocked calls between Korek and rival networks nationwide, a clear sign the company had been dodging its debts for years.

Sirwan Barzani, a military commander and convicted fraudster, built Korek into a business worth billions, boasting seven million subscribers and nearly 3,500 towers across Iraq.

To win its license, Korek spent close to $600 million, money that came out of the KRG’s own budget for Sirwan Barzani’s private use.

His son, Mazen Sirwan Barzani, holds the post of director of relations at the company, keeping the family firmly in charge of its operations.

Observers say the company’s growth came not from merit but from access to Kurdistan Regional Government institutions, which critics argue the family exploited for personal enrichment while skirting accountability.

In 2011, facing scrutiny, Barzani denied Korek was owned by the KDP, the ruling party led by his uncle Massoud Barzani.

He claimed three other shareholders, whom he described only as businessmen unaffiliated with the party, held stakes alongside him, insisting the company grew from a modest start with little capital, a claim critics view skeptically given the family’s track record.

The Barzani family, repeatedly labeled Kurdish “oligarchs” by critics, has faced persistent accusations of nepotism and self-enrichment through the region’s oil wealth rather than public service.

The clan maintains stakes across nearly every major business sector in Kurdistan, a dominance watchdogs say reflects systemic corruption rather than legitimate enterprise.

(With files from Agencies)