Sulaimani police arrest two selling land with forged deeds

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Police forces in the Kurdistan Region's city of Sulaimani announced they had arrested two people on Sunday accused of forging legal documents with a scheme to sell plots of land in a residential neighborhood.

"Hawari Shar police, in cooperation with crime prevention units, arrested two people who had created counterfeit land deeds and sold them to citizens," began a statement by the Sulaimani provincial police.

Authorities took action after locals from the Hawari Shar neighborhood reported that real estate agents were faking the legal documents and beginning to auction off pieces of property in the area to unsuspecting would-be landowners, the statement added.

The neighborhood lies on the outskirts of the city of Sulaimani where new housing projects are starting to pop up and fill with residents. The large Hawari Shar Park adds to the overall attractiveness of the location for families and for those seeking to build or buy a new home.

"The court ordered the arrest of the two defendants with the initials A. R. from Kirkuk and K. A. from Erbil, based on Article 456 of the Iraqi Penal Code," Sulaimani police continued, adding that "more warrants could be issued for others involved in the crime."

The article restricts falsely representing any document "that can be used to establish a right of ownership or other material right" as "punishable by detention." 

Editing by John J. Catherine