Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) will this afternoon reveal some members of a network of people involved in fraudulent auctioning practices, officials have announced.

Fraudulent auctioning practices have been hurting many people and businesses, especially defaulters of home mortgage loans whose properties are sold at peanut prices during dishonest auctions.

RIB announced on its Twitter account today that it "has disbanded a network of people involving in fraudulent auctioning”.

RIB spokesperson, Modeste Mbabazi, told The New Times some members of the cartel will be unveiled this afternoon.

The body said that suspects include a lawyer, who has been acting as a receiver; brokers, commonly known by their French name as "commissionaires”; and some businessmen.

Officials at RIB said that the so called brokers disguise as bidders, they undervalue the properties on auction in the interests of one of the businessmen and women, and the properties end up being sold at the lowest prices possible.

"RIB appeals to the public to share information about deceitful dealings and warns people involved in such deals that measures have been put in place to curb such vices,” RIB said on its Twitter account.

Numerous complaints of how properties are undervalued and sold at give-away prices have been on the increase, with officials at the Ministry of Justice recently pledging to respond swiftly.

The deceitful dealings cause losses to the owners of properties and at times the lending institutions which often fail to recover the full amount of their money.

One victim of a fraudulent auctioning, Ernest Migambi, told The New Times that the practice is such a pity that it made him lose money beyond the unthinkable.

His home in Rubavu District was recently sold at about Rwf6 million in an auction that he describes as fraudulent.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw