Iraq anti-corruption body arrests six in Basra property fraud raids

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Federal Integrity Commission said six people were detained in two separate operations in Basra over irregularities and forgery in property records. The commission said its Basra Investigation Directorate led the raids. In the first operation, investigators went to the Second Land Registry Directorate after receiving documents prepared for the transfer of a property belonging to a bedridden citizen since 2020. The commission said the paperwork was based on a fake power of attorney issued by a notary in Madain, with suspects claiming the owner lived in Erbil while submitting a general authorization that an inspection found to be false and unlawful. The property, located in the provincial center, was estimated to be worth 250 million Iraqi dinars. In a second operation, the directorate formed teams of eight to identify administrative and financial violations at service offices across the city. One team went to the Basra Tax Directorate and detained two people found to have processed transactions for multiple citizens without legal authority, along with documents that lacked official power of attorney or legal basis. Authorities also seized a series of transactions bearing the tax office's seals and signatures, the commission said.