Barzani brothers' US properties worth over USD 100 million and payments from the GEG and Ster conglomerates: OCCRP investigation (from 2005 to 2025)
On 8 October 2025 OCCRP and the Government Accountability Project published an investigation, based on leaked emails, ledgers and corporate records, into the US spending of the five sons of former Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani: Masrour, Prime Minister since 2019, Mansour, Waysi, Mustafa and Muksi. It reported that from 2005 to 2019 holding companies ultimately owned by the brothers bought 31 US properties worth over USD 100 million through offshore companies, and that at least USD 29 million of their spending came from two Kurdish conglomerates. More than USD 10 million came from Golden Eagle Global (GEG), which the documents suggest Mustafa Barzani controlled and which held US military contracts and offered foreign firms help with government permits. Over USD 18 million came from Ster Group, called 'Masrour Barzani's overseas company' in a 2008 email. It also reported a payment to a family company from Impulse Energy, a partner in the Ain Sifni oil block. Lawyers for Masrour Barzani said he 'vehemently rejects' any wrongdoing; lawyers for Ster's former owners said the transfers were legal. No official inquiry is known.
- Period
- From January 2005 to October 2025
- Sector
- Kurdistan RegionRuling family assets abroad and party-linked conglomerates
- Kind of case
- Media investigation
- Jurisdiction
- Kurdistan Region; United States
How the money moved, according to the sources
Personal spending and property purchases abroad funded by conglomerates that leaked documents describe as under the hidden control of members of the ruling family and that did business with the regional government and the US military, with ownership hidden through offshore and nominee companies.
What happened
Press investigation only. No inquiry by the Integrity Commission of the Kurdistan Region, the federal Integrity Commission or US authorities into these transactions is known as of 19 October 2026. A separate US forfeiture case (see US forfeiture complaint against a Beverly Hills mansion: alleged USD 0.25 a litre payments to Peshmerga General Mansour Barzani for exclusive jet fuel access at Erbil airport (from 2016 to 2026)) concerns a Beverly Hills house bought in 2018 for a trust benefiting Mansour Barzani.
Open questions
- Who owns GEG and Ster Group today.
- Whether the brothers declared these assets and business interests under the financial disclosure rules of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
- What the KRG paid Impulse Energy for its Ain Sifni share in 2011.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masrour Barzani مسرور بارزاني | Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region since 2019, earlier head of the Region's intelligence; described in leaked documents as controlling Ster Group | Accused in credible reporting | OCCRP and the Government Accountability Project reported in October 2025, from leaked documents, that companies controlled by him bought two US properties for USD 20.4 million (2008 and 2019) and that Ster Group, called his 'overseas company' in a 2008 email, provided over USD 18 million for the brothers' purchases and expenses, raising questions about conflict of interest disclosure. His lawyers said he 'vehemently rejects' any wrongdoing and described a 2008 US diplomatic cable that named him as Ster's hidden majority shareholder as 'antiquated speculation'. No official action is known. | 19 October 2026 |
| Mustafa Barzani مصطفى بارزاني | Youngest son of Masoud Barzani; described in leaked documents as the controller and chairman of the Golden Eagle Global (GEG) companies | Accused in credible reporting | OCCRP and the Government Accountability Project reported in October 2025 that leaked documents point to him as the man behind the GEG companies, which held US military contracts and acted as intermediaries for foreign firms seeking KRG permits, and that GEG funds paid for at least three US properties worth over USD 10 million and for family expenses. He did not reply to OCCRP. No official action is known. | 19 October 2026 |
| Golden Eagle Global (GEG) مجموعة غولدن إيغل غلوبال (GEG) | Kurdish conglomerate (construction, advertising, security supplies) with a Delaware subsidiary; US military contractor and intermediary for foreign firms | Accused in credible reporting | OCCRP reported in October 2025 that leaked documents suggest GEG is controlled by Mustafa Barzani, that it funded more than USD 10 million of the brothers' US purchases and paid family expenses, and that it offered foreign oil firms help in obtaining KRG permits for fees or profit shares. GEG did not reply to OCCRP. No official action is known. | 19 October 2026 |
| Ster Group مجموعة ستير | Erbil conglomerate (construction, soft drinks distribution, internet) described in leaked documents as under the control of Masrour Barzani | Accused in credible reporting | OCCRP reported in October 2025 that Ster Group or its top representatives provided over USD 18 million for the Barzani brothers' property purchases and expenses, and that a 2008 email described it as 'Masrour Barzani's overseas company'. Lawyers for its former owners said the transfers were legal and that Ster was never a front for anyone. No official action is known. | 19 October 2026 |
| Mansour Barzani منصور بارزاني | One of the five Barzani brothers whose holding companies bought US property; GEG was listed as a source of his business income | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. OCCRP reported in October 2025 that holding companies owned by the five Barzani brothers, including him, bought US properties and that a family lawyer listed GEG as a source of business income for Masrour and Mansour Barzani. The report makes no specific accusation against him; the separate US forfeiture case is in US forfeiture complaint against a Beverly Hills mansion: alleged USD 0.25 a litre payments to Peshmerga General Mansour Barzani for exclusive jet fuel access at Erbil airport (from 2016 to 2026). | 19 October 2026 |
| Waysi Barzani ويسي بارزاني | One of the five Barzani brothers; reported adviser to the Region's Security Council and former head of its Counter Terrorism Department | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. Named in OCCRP's October 2025 investigation as one of the five brothers whose spending was funded in part by GEG; OCCRP said he did not appear in the records as having bought property through his British Virgin Islands company. No accusation against him is made in the report. | 19 October 2026 |
| Muksi Barzani موكسي بارزاني | One of the five Barzani brothers; owner of companies that bought just under USD 60 million of US real estate | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. OCCRP reported in October 2025 that companies he controlled bought just under USD 60 million of US real estate, the most of the five brothers, that part of the funding was described as family money, and that he had no reported role in Kurdish politics. No accusation against him is made in the report. | 19 October 2026 |
| Sarwar Pedawi سرور بيداوي | Founder and former co-owner of Ster Group and of Impulse Energy Corporation; former economic policy adviser to Masoud Barzani | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. OCCRP reported that Ster Group, which he set up in 2002, or its representatives provided over USD 18 million for the Barzani brothers' purchases, and that Impulse Energy, run by him and his brother, made a payment to a Barzani family company. His lawyers said the transfers were currency exchanges or other legitimate transactions, that he left Ster in 2018 and that neither he nor Ster had been a front for anyone. | 19 October 2026 |
| Impulse Energy Corporation شركة إمبلس إنرجي | British Virgin Islands company run by Sarwar and Laween Pedawi; junior partner with Hunt Oil in the Ain Sifni block from 2007 | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. OCCRP reported that Impulse was registered one day before it took a share of the Ain Sifni exploration contract with the KRG in September 2007, that it made a payment to the Barzani family company GEGI Management, and that the KRG took back its share in July 2011 and sold it on for an estimated USD 170 million. No accusation of a crime is made. | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- OCCRP and Government Accountability Project8 October 2025Press reportTier D
Mansions, Horses, and Designer Bags: How the Ruling Family of Iraqi Kurdistan Splurged in the U.S.
Original addressBetween 2005 and 2019, holding companies ultimately owned by the brothers acquired 31 properties across the United States, including mansions and commercial real estate, worth over $100 million.
Related cases
- US forfeiture complaint against a Beverly Hills mansion: alleged USD 0.25 a litre payments to Peshmerga General Mansour Barzani for exclusive jet fuel access at Erbil airport (from 2016 to 2026)
- US civil lawsuit against Kurdistan Region leaders (Revend et al. v. Barzani et al., US District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:24-cv-00278), since 2024
- Korek Telecom: ICC arbitration finding fraud and corruption against Korek and Sirwan Barzani, and the regulator's 2026 asset seizure