ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Baghdad court has reversed a previous September ruling that deemed a settlement contract with Erbil-based Korek Telecom valid, the Iraqi Communication and Media Commission (CMC) said Tuesday, stressing the company’s obligation to pay overdue debts.
The communication regulator said “it overturns the primary judgment previously issued by the Rusafa Court of First Instance, which had obliged the Commission to adhere to the terms of the settlement contract concluded with Korek Telecom.”
Korek and the CMC signed a settlement agreement in 2025, with the former acknowledging its unpaid financial obligations and promising to pay them back in installments. The company’s license renewal fees and financial commitments are estimated at $1.5 billion
The CMC unilaterally terminated the settlement in June, citing a “breach in contractual obligations.” The Rusafa Court of First Instance upheld the validity of the deal in September, but the Iraqi regulator said at the time that the ruling had been subject to “inaccurate interpretations” after Korek celebrated it.
Overturning the ruling signified that Korek “can no longer rely on the revoked primary ruling to force the Commission to implement the terms of the settlement,” the CMC’s Tuesday statement read, attributing the legal interpretation to its “legal department.”
“Korek Telecom is obligated to pay the outstanding financial debts owed to the Commission in accordance with approved legal and regulatory procedures,” the statement added.
The Iraqi regulator shut down Korek’s main switching centers across 14 Iraqi provinces in early November, excluding the Kurdistan Region’s four provinces. The closure followed a one-month “grace period” granted by the CMC to Korek subscribers to switch their SIM cards on the digital platforms.
The CMC confirmed its position on Tuesday to pursue “all necessary legal measures to collect the financial dues and protect state rights, emphasizing its dedication to enforcing laws and judicial rulings while regulating the telecommunications sector to safeguard the public interest.”
Disruptions to Korek's services began in late 2023, when the commission launched enforcement actions over unpaid financial obligations, cutting the company's internet services outside the Kurdistan Region and blocking calls between Korek and competing networks across Iraq.
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