The Iraqi Ministry of Justice has announced a major legal settlement with three Dutch companies. It said that the companies had filed international lawsuits against Iraq with claims amounting to about $800 million [IQD 1.04 trillion]; following "sustained legal and technical negotiations," the amount was reduced to $80 million [IQD 104 billion], preserving 90 percent of the state treasury's exposure. The statement from the Ministry named the companies in Arabic as "Apollo Fashion," "Poultry" and "Continental Construction"; Iraq Business News has been unable to verify these names. The Ministry stated that the achievement was the result of extensive work by its legal teams. (Source: Ministry of Justice)