What is the ruling on paying zakat on money from an investment project that lost most of its capital, and is zakat to be paid for two years or one? And is the owner of zakat money who invested it for the poor and lost it liable, when he has nothing to compensate with?

First: Zakat is obligatory on trade goods if they reach the nisab (minimum threshold) and a hawl (full lunar year) passes over them. The goods are valued at their current market price at the end of the hawl, and Zakat is paid at a rate of 2.5% of their value. Zakat is not obligatory on shop fixtures or factory machinery that are not intended for sale.

Second: It is not permissible to invest Zakat funds; rather, they must be disbursed immediately to their rightful recipients. If someone invests Zakat funds and they are lost, that person is liable for them, whether it is the owner or their agent who invested them without authorization. In such a case, it is obligatory to disburse an equivalent amount to the rightful recipients.