Ramadi court finds state land undervalued, costing 18.4 billion dinars

ANBAR — An investigation has found that the value of a 400-dunam state-owned property in Anbar was manipulated during its sale, costing public funds more than 18.4 billion dinars, about $14 million at the official rate, the judiciary said. No arrests have been announced.

The land belonged to the State Real Estate Department and the manipulation was in how its estimated value was calculated, according to the Ramadi Investigation Court, which handles integrity cases. “The investigation resulted in manipulation in calculating the estimated financial value of the property, which led to a financial difference of 18,433,200,000 Iraqi dinars that was forfeited in favor of the manipulators at the expense of public funds,” the judge overseeing the case said. The work was done with the Federal Commission of Integrity’s Anbar investigation office.

It is the second state land case in Anbar this month. The commission halted the sale of 550 donums set aside for Ramadi’s future expansion on Sept. 1 after finding it had been priced at less than half its estimated market value, and without the approvals required from the Ramadi Municipality Directorate.

Land and property records have produced ten cases in seven weeks across seven governorates. Investigators uncovered a network accused of forging records for 104 properties at Nasiriyah Municipality Directorate, worth about 10.4 billion dinars. An assistant director at the Salah al-Din Real Estate Registration Directorate concealed ownership of about 95 properties across three governorates in her husband’s and relatives’ names. The National Security Service arrested 61 people in Muthanna on Aug. 28 over more than 90 forged land transactions. A former Kirkuk registry assistant was convicted over a fraudulent ownership document, a network at a Real Estate Bank branch in Babil manipulated 56 loan files using forged deeds, two Najaf municipal staff were caught taking a bribe over a forged barcode on a land document, and 13 people were arrested in Diwaniyah over falsified papers used to obtain loans and land.