Iraq's Media Commission Weighs Enforcement Action Against Korek Telecom Amid Debt Dispute

Peregraf - Iraq's Communications and Media Commission (CMC) is preparing to take executive measures against Korek Telecom in the coming period, while a parliamentary committee has said it will not approve any step that compromises the state's rights.

Basim Salem al-Janabi, chairman of the CMC's board of trustees, told Al-Sabah that "the commission will take executive measures against Korek, and these will be announced later," declining to provide further details.

Separately, Muna al-Muhammadawi, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Communications and Governance, said no final decision has yet been made regarding Korek, and that all legal options remain on the table. She told Al-Sabah that "the committee will not approve any measure that compromises the state's rights or harms citizens," adding that the committee is following the file "until a decision is reached that achieves justice and safeguards public funds."

Ali Anwar Issa, an information technology governance and security specialist, told Al-Sabah that the CMC is the regulatory body for the telecommunications sector and operates according to existing instructions and laws. He said the company has outstanding debts and has pursued legal avenues in an attempt to settle them through multiple means, noting that the latest decision involves a settlement to be paid in scheduled installments.

Issa said that if the company fails to comply, the commission will pursue full legal action, which could ultimately include revoking its license entirely and turning to an alternative — the state-owned National Telecommunications Company, which operates alongside other providers in the mobile phone sector.

Origins of the dispute

According to Korek executives, tensions with the CMC date back to 2007, when the commission allocated the company roughly three million subscribers it was meant to inherit from a competing operator, a decision the company has long disputed. The current phase of the conflict centers on unpaid licensing fees and other financial obligations that Iraqi lawmakers have put at roughly 2 trillion Iraqi dinars, or about $1.5 billion.

In October 2023, the CMC warned Korek that its operating license had expired and would not be renewed due to unpaid debts. The following month, the commission moved to block the company's domestic and international connectivity over the unresolved obligations, cutting subscribers off from calls, texts and data for an extended period.

The September 2024 settlement and its collapse

In September 2024, the CMC announced it had reached a settlement with Korek over the outstanding debts. However, the company's external telecommunications services were not restored despite the agreement. In February 2025, the CMC took what it called "punitive action," ordering an immediate shutdown of Korek's internet services over continued non-payment, a move that drew criticism from subscribers, particularly in the Kurdistan Region, and prompted Iraq's Integrity Committee to announce it would review the financial obligations of Korek as well as competitors Asiacell and Zain Iraq.

The Ministry of Communications distanced itself from the dispute at the time, noting that mobile operator license contracts are signed directly with the CMC, not the ministry.

Escalation in 2026

The conflict intensified through the first half of 2026. In May, CMC executive head Baligh Abu Kalal announced the commission had begun systematically seizing Korek's movable and immovable assets, describing the move as the result of a three-year coordinated effort with local banks to recover the company's debts.

On June 2, 2026, the CMC formally canceled its settlement agreement with Korek and ordered an immediate suspension of all the company's network operations, along with a freeze on its corporate assets. The commission cited Korek's continued failure to meet its contractual and financial obligations despite multiple extensions.

Korek rejected the decision as unlawful. Company CEO Sirwan Barzani said Korek would file a legal complaint against the CMC official responsible, and the company issued a statement accusing the commission of bias and of manufacturing an "artificial barrier" to implementation of the settlement, specifically by refusing to accept a tax clearance document issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Korek said it had agreed to the settlement on the guidance of the Prime Minister's Office and parliament's communications committee, and pointed to a senior delegation it sent to the CMC on May 31, 2026, in what it described as a good-faith effort to finalize the agreement.

Toward closure and a new operator

Roughly three weeks after canceling the settlement, the CMC announced it had completed the legal and regulatory procedures to close Korek's case altogether, and said it was preparing the market for the launch of a new national mobile operator to increase competition in the sector. Abu Kalal said the measures were taken "in accordance with the law and applicable decisions" and were aimed at protecting public funds and state interests.

Where things stand

The statements from CMC board chairman Basim Salem al-Janabi, parliamentary committee member Muna al-Muhammadawi, and IT governance specialist Ali Anwar Issa — indicate the file remains open, with parliament emphasizing that any resolution must safeguard public funds and not come at the expense of subscribers, and with the possibility still on the table that Korek's license could be revoked outright in favor of the state-owned National Telecommunications Company. Korek has said it intends to pursue every available legal and constitutional avenue to contest the CMC's actions.