Zain, in a statement to Kuwait’s bourse, said an Iraqi court had dismissed a $4.5 billion lawsuit against its Iraqi subsidiary related to the $1.2 billion acquisition of rival operator Iraqna from Egypt’s Orascom Telecom in 2007.

The unidentified company filing the lawsuit was also seeking damages from Iraq’s telecom regulator, the Communications and Media Commission (CMC), reports Reuters.

The judgment allows for an appeal within 15 days.

After the lawsuit was filed, an Iraqi court, in January, ordered all revenue that Zain Iraq had accrued from original Iraqna subscribers to be locked away in an Iraqi bank until the case was resolved.

Zain is now looking to get those restrictions removed.

Iraqna had about 3 million subscribers at the time of Zain’s acquisition, while Zain Iraq accounted for 40 per cent of its parent company’s Q1 revenue.