KRG auctions properties of main opposition leader Abdulwahid

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Dozens of properties owned by Shaswar Abdulwahid, jailed leader of the Kurdistan Region’s opposition New Generation movement (NGM), will be put on sale at an open auction due to accumulated debts of 92 billion dinars (about $70 million), the Region’s finance ministry said on Sunday. 

 

"After several warnings to Nalia [Company] to repay the loans and non-compliance of the relevant parties, our ministry considers it its legal right to sell all the properties through public auction," reads a statement by the Ministry of Finance and Economy. 

 

The properties include Nalia Company and the massive Chavy Land theme park in Sulaimani.

 

Abdulwahid is facing several charges. He was arrested in mid-August by Sulaimani security forces.

 

The decision came a week after the finance ministry decided to close Chavy Land,  one of the largest theme parks in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, due to alleged tax evasion.

 

A total of 60 properties, including lands, hotels, cafeterias, and tourist cabins owned by Abdulwahid, have been confiscated and will be auctioned.

 

A judicial decree dated August 3 revealed that Abdulwahid had been sentenced in absentia to six months in prison under Article 431 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which pertains to making serious threats against others, their property, or their reputation. The charge carries a potential sentence of detention or a fine, classifying it as a lesser offense.

 

NGM has criticized the arrest of its leader, labeling it an “abduction” carried out without prior notice. The party alleged that security forces affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) were behind the arrest, and directly accused PUK leader Bafel Talabani and deputy prime minister and leading PUK figure Qubad Talabani of standing behind it.

 

The NGM is the Kurdistan Region’s most vocal opposition force. Formed by Abdulwahid to contest the 2018 regional elections, it has seen a dramatic rise in popularity and scored third place in the October 20 Kurdistan parliament elections with 15 seats.