ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - In Karbala, seven people were arrested accused of illegally quarrying construction materials for a residential project that did not have the necessary authorization, Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity announced on Friday. In a separate case in the same province, suspected pension fraud was uncovered.
“A team from the Karbala Investigation Office, which went to the al-Ukhaidir Desert in the al-Razzaza area, captured seven people who were caught in the act of stealing aggregate material from an illegally established factory and quarry in order to sell building materials without proper approvals,” read a statement from the commission.
The investigating team coordinated with local officials and located the factory in the desert west of Karbala using surveyors and GPS. Thirteen pieces of equipment were seized at the site and are being held by the police.
The commission said they found violations in the granting of an investment license for the construction of a residential project. “The Karbala investment committee had not taken the legal procedures,” the commission said.
The team also uncovered a suspected case of pension fraud at the Karbala branch of the Directorate of Public Pension, which resulted in the loss of over 61 million Iraqi dinars. The directorate did not take the necessary steps on the file of a “deceased retired woman” and her pension continued to be paid for four and a half years, according to the commission.
Iraq is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International, which ranked it 154 out of 180 nations in 2024.
“A team from the Karbala Investigation Office, which went to the al-Ukhaidir Desert in the al-Razzaza area, captured seven people who were caught in the act of stealing aggregate material from an illegally established factory and quarry in order to sell building materials without proper approvals,” read a statement from the commission.
The investigating team coordinated with local officials and located the factory in the desert west of Karbala using surveyors and GPS. Thirteen pieces of equipment were seized at the site and are being held by the police.
The commission said they found violations in the granting of an investment license for the construction of a residential project. “The Karbala investment committee had not taken the legal procedures,” the commission said.
The team also uncovered a suspected case of pension fraud at the Karbala branch of the Directorate of Public Pension, which resulted in the loss of over 61 million Iraqi dinars. The directorate did not take the necessary steps on the file of a “deceased retired woman” and her pension continued to be paid for four and a half years, according to the commission.
Iraq is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International, which ranked it 154 out of 180 nations in 2024.
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