Police in Burera District are holding two men suspected of forging documents to inflate the value of a property in an effort to rip off a prospective buyer.

The duo, arrested last week, are Maximilien Munyampirwa, the executive secretary of Butaro Sector, and a property valuer whom police only identified as Bosco.

Police say the duo connived to forge Munyampirwa’ documents proving he has a property worth Rwf10 million while the real valuation was Rwf3 million.

The crime was committed in the process of expropriating people residing or having property on land on which a medical university, Global Heath Equity University, will soon be constructed.

Police say that among the people to be expropriated was the sector leader and instead of providing the real worth of his property, he worked with his co-accused to inflate the value.

"We are holding them over forgery, the duo forged documents; preliminary investigations revealed that the prime suspect’s property was a small piece of land worth Rwf3 million but he, with his co-accused, forged another document showing the property was worth Rwf10 million, which is theft,” said Chief Inspector of Police Robert Ngabonziza, the Northern Province regional police spokesperson.

Ngabonziza said that investigations are ongoing to see if there are no other similar cases in the expropriation exercise.

He urged property valuers to be more professional whenever there is need for expropriation and ensure the money paid is worth the property in question, saying that cheating investors would not be tolerated.

Under the Penal Code, whoever is found guilty of forgery is sentenced with between five and ten years or pays the fine of between Rwf500, 000 and Rwf5 million, or both.

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