Integrity Commission Busts Network That Hid Ownership of 170 Properties in Babel and Baghdad

The Federal Integrity Commission announced on Tuesday the dismantling of a network of nine suspects, including its head, who is the director of property registration for the Aby Gharq subdistrict in Babel. The network is suspected of purchasing more than 170 properties in Babel and Baghdad valued at tens of billions of Iraqi dinars, and of registering them in the names of relatives and friends to conceal their true ownership and sources of funds. Investigators also seized primary documents and papers that the suspects had hidden among reeds and others they tried to destroy by throwing into the Shatt al-Hilla.

The commission said in a statement received by Al-Wasat Iraqi newspaper that the operation was carried out in cooperation with the Falcons Intelligence Cell in Babel, after inquiries and investigations by a team from the Babel Investigations Office uncovered a network of nine suspects and led to the arrest of its head and other members.

It clarified that the network’s head holds the post of director of property registration for the Aby Gharq subdistrict and previously held the same post in Mansour and in Babel. Investigations showed the network is suspected of buying more than 170 properties in the provinces of Babel and Baghdad and registering them in other people’s names, including relatives and friends of the suspects, with the aim of hiding their true ownership and real proceeds and shielding them from financial scrutiny.

The commission added that the network is also suspected of hiding and attempting to destroy primary documents and papers related to the properties in order to obstruct access to them, noting that among the properties are lands belonging to the state and agricultural lands.

It indicated that the judge of the Integrity Investigative Court in Babel issued, based on the results of the inquiry and investigation, arrest warrants against the nine suspects under Articles 289 and 298 of the Penal Code, and also issued an order to seize the primary documents and papers related to the case.

The commission explained that its team, in cooperation with the Falcons Intelligence Cell, began tracking those primary documents after receiving information that the suspects had hidden them and were attempting to dispose of them.

It said the tracking and inquiries led to the seizure of part of the primary documents hidden inside a bag among the reeds, while witness statements revealed an attempt to destroy the other part by throwing it into the Shatt al-Hilla, to prevent investigators from reaching it and using it to prove the purchase of the properties, their registration in others’ names, and the concealment of their real proceeds.

The team moved to the site and was able to locate the primary documents on the banks of the Shatt al-Hilla and retrieve part of them from the water.

The commission added that statements were recorded from several witnesses who provided information about the mechanism of buying and registering the properties and the people in whose names they were registered. Investigations showed that the main suspect, the director of property registration for Aby Gharq, owns two commercial buildings in downtown Hillah, in addition to other properties that are under investigation.

It noted that official seizure records were drawn up for the exhibits and primary documents seized, and these were presented along with the head of the network and the remaining members against whom the arrest warrants were carried out. The competent investigating judge decided to continue investigations under Article 2/19 of the Integrity Commission and Illicit Gains Law No. 30 of 2011, as amended.