Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) has ordered the “immediate shutdown” of Korek Telecom’s internet services following its “failure to pay its debts and continued violations”, according to a CMC statement cited by The New Region. The CMC has asked Iraq’s communications ministry to “implement the decision”, according to the report.
Korek’s customers across Iraq and Kurdistan have been “unable to make or receive calls, or send and receive messages from both domestic and international carriers for over a year”, the report added.
Sirwan Barzani, Chairman of Korek Telecom, is facing intense legal pressure after losing $2.7 billion in arbitration awards for expropriating Iraq Telecom’s stake in Korek Telecom. He is the target of international enforcement actions with legal proceedings in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the UAE.
