ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A court in Baghdad on Sunday issued an injunction temporarily suspending regulatory measures against Korek Telecom, the Erbil-based company told Rudaw, pausing an ongoing dispute with the Communications and Media Commission (CMC) that threatened to halt the provider's operations and seize its assets.
Korek said that the Rusafa Court has issued “an administrative injunction temporarily halting” the decisions by the state-run Iraqi regulator against Korek Telecom “until the case is formally resolved in court."
Meanwhile, Jadir Abdulwahab, head of the media department at the CMC, confirmed to Rudaw that they have been "informed" about the decision but have not “officially” received it.
The legal breakthrough happened against the backdrop of imminent procedures against Korek by the Iraqi regulator, signaling the immediate halt of the Erbil-based telecommunications company and the confiscation of its assets.
Baligh Abu Kalal, head of the CMC, told Rudaw on Saturday that they have “reached a dead end” with Korek as the company has been “non-compliant with the Commission’s decisions” and has not paid its outstanding debts valued at more than two trillion dinars (around $1.5 billion).
"So far there is no solution with Korek," he noted. "We have begun closing the company's offices in Baghdad."
Earlier on Thursday, the Iraqi regulator had announced the closure of “several Korek Telecom’s sites in Baghdad.”
The closures "fall within the framework of implementing the decisions and regulatory measures taken against the company," pertaining to the "suspension of the company's operations," the CMC said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the CMC issued a letter on Wednesday urging Korek subscribers to register alternative SIM cards and backup emails in their social media, communication, and bank accounts.
In response, Sirwan Barzani, chairman of Korek Telecom's board of directors, on Thursday denounced the CMC's decisions against his company as "illegal" and "implemented outside of regulatory frameworks," adding that the company had "taken legal measures in three Iraqi courts."
Earlier in August, the Erbil-based company accused the CMC of taking "successive arbitrary measures motivated by the political movement to which its management belongs," appealing directly to Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to intervene.
Korek users have experienced service disruptions since late 2023, when the CMC cut the company’s internet services and its engagement with other providers, citing failure in fulfilling financial obligations.
Updated at 3:18 pm
