Intelligence Online reports that former Washington consultant Mahtaub Moore has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. against Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and two of his brothers, accusing them of laundering money into U.S. real estate and attempting to purchase American spyware.
Court filings allege that the Barzani family sought to illegally acquire American zero-click spyware from HSS Development Group in December 2022 through a front company, ASO LLC, Intelligence Online reports. Documents, including a contract and two secret depositions from an ongoing sealed court case in New York, indicate that Afan Omar Sherwani arranged the deal under the direction of Masrour Barzani’s brother Waysi Barzani, who Intelligence Online describes as “the de-facto head of intelligence for the Kurdistan Democratic Party.”
The filings reveal that ASO LLC later sued HSS after paying $360,000 for nonfunctional spyware, with the two parties ultimately reaching a confidential settlement.
Intelligence Online further reports that Moore’s complaint outlines several schemes through which the Barzani family allegedly acquired U.S. real estate using anonymous shell companies. The complaint alleges that Golden Eagle Global (GEG) served as a “front company for the Barzanis”, through which they allegedly secured contracts with the US military.
