Four Employees Detained in Diwaniya Over Land Fraud in Iraq

The Iraqi Federal Integrity Commission announced on Saturday the detention of the head and members of the land allocation audit committee for lawyers at the Diwaniya Municipality Directorate on charges of intentionally causing harm to public funds and state interests.

The commission stated on its Facebook page that the Diwaniya Investigation Office team, acting under a judicial warrant, raided the municipality directorate and apprehended four employees: the committee head and members responsible for auditing land allocation requests for the lawyers’ category. The committee is chaired by the municipality’s legal department chief. The accused reportedly approved land ownership procedures despite evident suspicions of forgery and manipulation.

The investigative team documented the seizure officially and presented the suspects before the judge of the Diwaniya Investigation Court specialized in integrity cases. The judge ordered their detention under Article 340 of the Penal Code.

This operation coincides with the Federal Integrity Commission’s intensified efforts to combat corruption networks, particularly in the domain of state-owned real estate and land. This sector has faced persistent attempts over several years to manipulate and forge documents to unlawfully seize high-value properties.