Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission has stripped Orange and Agility Public Warehousing of their stake in mobile operator Korek Telecom, according to an official document seen by Bloomberg. The regulator issued an administrative order transferring the 44 percent stake owned by the two partners to a group of local investors, which includes Korek Telecom's managing director, Sirwan Barzani. A Kurdish regional ministry executed the order in a document signed in March.
For Orange, the ruling marks the latest chapter in its battle for control of Korek Telecom. In November 2018, the group and its Kuwaiti partner Agility filed a new lawsuit accusing some of Korek’s local investors of corruption. "The shareholding owned by Orange and Agility has been unlawfully expropriated and Orange will continue to take all steps to seek full compensation for this act," said a spokesman for the company.
Orange’s investment in Iraq has amounted to USD 430 million in the eight years since the group's 2011 partnership with Agility, which has also invested a similar amount in the joint venture.
In a statement, Agility confirmed that it would fight to recover its holding, noting that it had "multiple legal proceedings" under way in Dubai, New York and before the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
The regulator’s latest decision means that Barzani, described by the press as one of Kurdistan's most powerful businessmen, now holds 75 percent of Korek, with the remaining stake in the hands of two other investors.
