Man arrested in Baghdad for impersonating PMF official

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces announced Thursday that its security units arrested a man accused of impersonating PMF officials and defrauding citizens by promising government jobs in exchange for money.

In a statement, the PMF said, “A force from the Directorate of Investigations in the General Directorate of Security and Discipline of the Popular Mobilization Forces managed to arrest an individual impersonating official positions in the PMF to deceive citizens with job appointments in the capital, Baghdad.”

According to the statement, the suspect forged identification badges and falsely claimed affiliation with the PMF to carry out the scheme. “He exploited claims of belonging to the PMF to conduct fraud, taking money from citizens by convincing them of appointments within the authority,” it said.

The arrest was carried out in a “precise security operation” after approval from the competent judge, and the suspect was referred to the relevant authorities for legal action.

In a similar case in July, Iraq’s National Security Service detained two individuals accused of impersonating advisers to the prime minister and defrauding Yazidi citizens. Authorities said the suspects collected 500,000 Iraqi dinars (about $357) from each victim in exchange for false military recruitment into a fabricated PMF unit.