Shafaq News- Al-Diwaniyah

Iraq’s National Security Service (INSS) said it arrested four government employees in Al-Diwaniyah on Monday over suspected property-related irregularities and identified 30 additional suspects.

Acting on judicial warrants, INSS officers detained the employees at an unnamed government institution and seized official documents, inspection reports, property declarations, ownership records, and maps linked to the suspected irregularities.

Preliminary investigations prompted arrest warrants for the 30 others under various legal provisions. Most have since been apprehended, while authorities continue searching for those still at large.

Al-Diwaniyah has seen several investigations into municipal land and property fraud in recent months. In July, four municipality employees, including the head of a residential land committee, were arrested on suspicion of approving ownership transfers despite evidence of forged or altered documents.

Days later, authorities exposed a broader forgery network involving public employees, lawyers, and other suspects, confiscating more than 1,000 allegedly falsified documents related to residential plots, bank loans, and public compensation payments.

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