Iraq: WesternZagros refutes claims of hidden interests

One of the most explosive allegations made by counsel representing Monde Petroleum’s Yassir Al-Fekaiki in the English Commercial Court battle with WesternZagros Resources Ltd (WZR or WZL) over a holding in the Kurdamir licence (see Politics) is that his former friend, prominent Kurdish commander Bafel Talabani, may have worked to have Monde’s 3% option in the licence terminated because he wished to make space for an interest he hoped to secure for himself – or for both himself and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami.