US report: Barzani family spends millions of dollars in Washington from corruption

US report: Barzani family spends millions of dollars in Washington from corruption

2-4-2025

US report - Barzani family spends millions of dollars in Washington from corruptionInformation/Translation …
A report by the American website Insight International confirmed on Tuesday that since the end of January 2024, lawyers for the Kurdistan Victims Fund have filed an extensive lawsuit against Masoud, Masrour, Weysi Barzani and several of their key aides. The case alleges a number of crimes ranging from corruption and forgery to torture and murder, and each charge is extensively documented. The case not only alleges that Masoud and Weysi were directly responsible for the killing of a US intelligence officer, but it also includes photos of his body after he was beaten to death by followers of Masrour and Weysi.
The report, translated by the / Information / agency, stated that “the Kurdish leadership spends millions of dollars in Washington, but because its representatives are limited to the Kurdistan Democratic Party and not to broader Kurdish interests, they have operated blindly. Even Masrour seemed unaware that some close associates who are noticeably absent from the list of defendants appear to have spoken to investigators and negotiated immunity for themselves at his expense.”
“There are four reasons why the Barzanis are foolish to believe that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will dismiss the case on the grounds of sovereign immunity,” he added. “While Masrour may argue that he has sovereign immunity, his permanent residency in the United States undermines this, so he cannot claim to be a U.S. resident, as he has been for years, and say he is a foreign official who is immune under U.S. law. His permanent residency raises tax and transparency questions that Masrour will no longer be able to evade.”
He continued: “While Masoud is not a U.S. citizen, that does not give him immunity. Within the U.S. judiciary, there are three levels of federal courts: the U.S. District Court where the Barzani lawsuit is now, the U.S. Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.”
He explained: “A large part of the Kurdistan Victims Fund lawsuit also involves financial crimes, corruption, and fraud by foreign businessmen. Unfortunately for the Barzani family, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does not protect them from liability under U.S. law for corruption and fraud as well.”
The report noted that “in the meantime, official Washington realizes that even if the Barzanis can set aside parts of the lawsuit, they will not be able to erase documentation of their crimes, and indeed, congressional hearings are brewing. Even traditional Barzani friends are now wondering whether the ruling family is more trouble than it is worth.”

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