Iraqi anti-corruption body arrests four Diwaniyah municipality officials

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Federal Integrity Commission announced on Tuesday that four officials within the Diwaniyah Municipality have been arrested on charges of deliberately harming the financial interests of their institution. The commission said a task force set up at its Diwaniyah investigation office visited the municipality and identified the suspects, including the head and members of a commission that reviewed land allocation applications submitted by a group of lawyers. The commission said the panel in question was headed by the head of the municipality's legal department. Investigators found that the suspects continued land title transfer procedures despite suspicions of irregularities and forgery linked to the plots in question. The task force presented its official record, together with the suspects, to the judge of the Diwaniyah Anti-Corruption Investigation Court. The judge ordered the detention of all four suspects under Article 340 of the Iraqi Penal Code. No further details on the case were immediately available.