Monthly Spotlight: Kurdistan's Uncertain Investment Climate

File photo, Erbil (David Stanley/CC BY 2.0)

From the Barzani Watch Editorial Board – Between 20 – 24 January, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani will leave Kurdistan for the snowy peaks of Davos, Switzerland, for four days of mingling with the global elite at the World Economic Forum. The KRG’s flagship project at Davos, ‘Kurdistan House’, has made a return, including a post outlining “4 reasons why Kurdistan is your next investment destination.”

This month, Barzani Watch aggregates four reasons why the Barzani family have made Kurdistan’s investment climate more uncertain.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani at the World Government Summit (Masrour Barzani/X)

Corruption and bribery risks

In an April 2024 opinion piece published by the Diplomatic Courier, Dr. Joel Ruet argued that investment into Kurdistan faces challenges such as budget shortfalls, legal issues with Baghdad causing an uncertain regulatory environment, political tension between the ruling Barzani and Talabani families, alongside a “lack of contract sanctity” according to a 2023 US State Department report cited by Ruet. An additional 2022 State Department report cited by Ruet warned that “KRG officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.”

In August 2024, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a report scrutinising Kurdistan’s anti-corruption efforts, noting that the “lack of corruption cases identified in the oil sector and related industries raises concerns regarding reporting and auditing mechanisms, given the sector’s crucial role in the KRI economy”, and that “the rate of high-level defendants remains low, with few senior government officials being charged” with corruption.

File photo (Presidency of the Kurdistan Region/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Human rights concerns

In January 2024, several members of the Barzani family, including Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, and Sirwan Barzani, among other high-profile figures, were summoned to a court in Washington DC to face accusations of  “extrajudicial killings, genocide, hostage taking and kidnapping, enforced disappearances, inhuman treatment, torture, rape, crimes against humanity, and multitudinous other unlawful and material acts” by the Kurdistan Victims’ Fund, a US nonprofit.

According to a 2024 report by the MENA Rights Group, Syrian journalist Sulaiman Ahmed was arrested by KRG authorities in October 2023, following a border crossing into Iraqi Kurdistan. Before his arrest, Ahmed was returning to Iraqi Kurdistan after attending his father’s funeral in Syria, reported VOA News. According to the MENA Rights Group report, Ahmed was denied legal representation until May 2024, seven months after his arrest. Over a year after he was initially detained, Ahmed was released in January 2025, according to Kurdistan 24.

File photo (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Arbitral awards

In March 2023, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) found that Kurdish telecommunications firm Korek Telecom, and its owner Sirwan Barzani, were liable for allegations of fraud and corruption made against them by Kuwaiti company Agility Public Warehousing and French telecommunications firm Orange. The ICC award stated that Korek and Sirwan must pay $1.65 billion in damages to the two international investors.

In September 2024, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) court upheld the 2023 ICC award. Simultaneously, the ICC awarded Agility and Orange an additional $1.17 billion ‘final arbitral award’ over a 2011 loan guarantee dispute between the two firms and Korek.

Sirwan Barzani and Korek have failed to pay either of these awards, totalling $2.82 billion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Nechirvan Barzani, June 2017 (Kremlin/Public domain)

Contradictory international relations

The Barzanis retain close relations with Iran, with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani visiting Tehran in May 2024, “opening up the possibility of a renewed era of cooperation” according to the Washington Institute. In September 2024, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reciprocated by visiting the Kurdistan Region in Iraq as part of his first international trip as President.

The Barzanis also retain close relations with Russia despite its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its increasingly authoritarian governance. Invest Kurdistan reportedly attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum twice, in June and November 2024, with the first session having Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance.

Despite this, the Barzanis have ties to the West. On 27 November 2024, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil, less than a week after KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani hosted Russian diplomat Elbrus Kutrashev at the Middle East Peace and Security Forum in Duhok.

On 27 February 2024, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Masrour Barzani in Washington DC, with both sides reportedly hailing “the importance of the U.S. partnership with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.” A week before this meeting, Masrour Barzani was summoned to a Washington DC court by the Kurdistan Victims’ Fund.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter

By clicking Sign Up you’re confirming that you agree with our Privacy Policy.