Shafaq News- Babil

Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission arrested five officials from a municipal directorate in Babil province over alleged manipulation of financial receipts and misuse of public funds, the commission said on Wednesday.

The commission said it had received reports of violations at Al-Tali’a Municipality, one of Babil’s municipal directorates.

The alleged violations involved issuing official letters to the Real Estate Registration Directorate to lift restrictions on eight properties sold under Article 25, allowing the properties to be registered in the beneficiaries’ names using forged financial receipts without payment of the amounts owed to the municipality.

Those arrested include the municipality director, his deputy, the accountant, the legal officer and the head of the properties section.

Investigators also seized the files for the properties involved in the alleged violations. The investigation found that the suspects had later issued additional receipts in an attempt to address the violations, according to the statement.

The commission said an official seizure report was prepared in accordance with legal procedures, and that the suspects and seized documents were presented to the investigating judge handling the case for action under Article 340 of Iraq’s Penal Code.