ICPC recovers 301 fraudulently acquired houses

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BY MOHAMMED ADAMU, OCTOBER 29, 2021 | 12:48 PM


The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission, ICPC, says it recovered 301 illegally acquired houses from two public officials in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

Mr. Bolaji Owasanoye, chairman, ICPC, told a house committee on real estates that improper paperworks on land acquisition and other related documentations is making corruption more pervasive in the sector.

He said the commission is in receipt of several complaints from the public over corruption cases they suffer from developers and realtors in the federal capital and beyond.

'Even though we have not aggregated the numbers that relate to land matters, we have, however, received a number of petitions from stakeholders in the real estate and housing sector, off-takers, prospective buyers and the general public regarding the behavior and antics of real estate developers within the FCT, and sometimes outside of the FCT on this very important subject matter,’ he said, quoted by TheCable.

'These complaints and petitions are varied, they border on forgery, the closing of land documents double or multiple land allocation, allocation of land without the ministers approval, revocation of land title without due process, non delivery of projects, embezzlement of sourced capital, land racketeering, the use of land syndicate and speculators, the marketing of fake layouts, fraudulent allocation of land, inordinate delay in processing of land documents for those who subscribe to their projects, general abuse of office, and other related issues and challenges.

'Corrupt public officers use real estate investment as a vehicle for hiding ill-gotten wealth and money laundering. Public officers acquire estates in pseudonyms to conceal the illegal origin of funds,’ he added.


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