Sirwan Barzani

Sirwan Saber Barzani (born ) is an Iraqi Kurdish businessman, military commander and convicted fraud. He is a member of the Kurdish Barzani family. He is the older brother of Saywan Barzani, a Kurdish diplomat.

Sirwan is the nephew of the former President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani and cousin to the President of Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani. He is one of the most famous young generals in the Kurdistan Region's military force in Iraq, called the Kurdish Peshmerga.

Career

Korek Telecom

Barzani is the managing director of Korek Telecom, a mobile phone operator in Iraq. Korek is one of the oldest telecommunications companies in Iraq, having begun by offering services with Kurdistan and expanded nationwide after receiving a national operating licence in 2007. The company now has seven million subscribers and close to 3,500 towers across Iraq. The estimated worth of the company is $2 billion.

Critics suggest that, as Masoud Barzani's nephew, he has only achieved his wealth through nepotism. Kamal Chomani, a critic of the Kurdistan Regional Government, said that: "He could have supported the Peshmerga through his giant companies, but everyone knows Sirwan Barzani has become a billionaire by using KRG institutions." In response, Barzani has said "This is normal. When people talk bad about you, it means that you are doing good, and I will do more."

In 2011, Barzani was forced to deny that Korek belonged to the KDP, the political party led by his uncle, and revealed that he was one of four shareholders, and that the other three shareholders were "not very well-known" and were "businessmen not affiliated to the KDP". He explained that this was because "we started with a very small business and very small amount of capital."

Peshmerga fighter Barzani was a Peshmerga fighter for 12 years, fighting against Saddam Hussein's forces in the mountains of the Kurdistan region. During this time, he earned the nickname "Black Tiger". He was educated at the military academy in Zakho, and established the Barzani brigade in 1994. He retired from the army in 2000.

In 2021, Barzani stated that Islamic State was "still a big threat for all of the world" and that the fighters "will keep pushing as they want to become more powerful". He went on to state that the COVID-19 Pandemic had been of benefit to the Islamic State in their efforts to reorganise.

In 2022, Barzani stated that the Peshmerga were growing deeply concerned that ISIS had started carrying out an increasing number of terrorist activities across the region in an attempt to rebuild its operating base.

In 2023, when asked what he thought would happen when the Western Coalition eventually leaves Iraq for good, he stated, "Let me be plain: it will be catastrophic. When they withdrew from Afghanistan, we saw first-hand how that empowered Isis; it gave their fighters hope they would do the same here. And when the Americans withdrew the troops in 2011, we also saw what happened: Al-Qaeda, the civil war and then Isis. If they withdraw their support, the same scenario will repeat itself—the state will fracture".

Fraud and Corruption In March 2023, Paris-based International Court of Arbitration found Sirwan Barzani guilty of ‘fraud and corruption’ and awarded $1.65 billion in damages to Iraq Telecom Limited, a joint venture of Kuwaiti company Agility and French Orange Group, and International Holdings.