News
The great land robbery
A woman who recently purchased land in a residential area, close to Colombo, was in for a shock when two months after the transaction she found a board had come up informing that the land belonged to the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and trespassers would be severely dealt with.
Portfolio similar to this have been altered in several land transactions
She had bought a 40 perch land off the Malabe-Kaduwela road for Rs 40 million after checking on the necessary documentation.
She lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
The CID’s Commercial Crime Investigation that undertook the probe found that most of the telephone numbers used by the party that sold the land were not working and the party had left the house they were occupying soon after the transaction.
However, one CID officer was able to track down a telephone number and had traced the party to a house in Habarakada, Homagama.
When the CID arrived at the scene they stumbled on startling evidence. The house resembled a branch of the Land Registrar’s Department.
“Portfolio files and documentation were stored similarly to the way they are stored in the lands registration section,” an officer involved in the raid said.
Investigations revealed that the modus-operandi of the party was to obtain the original portfolios from the Land Registration offices and replace them with forged documents including portfolio pages.
“This would mean anyone who checked on the land would find corresponding information in the portfolios similar to that of the forged documents or deeds prepared by those involved in the racket,” the officer said.
The CID even found dye that had been used on the paperwork to give the effect of old documentation. Three men were arrested at the house in Habarakada .
CID investigations also revealed that the land that was sold to the woman had originally belonged to the UDA. The men had removed the board placed by the UDA, prepared forged documentation and then sold the land.
The case is one among some 150 cases of land documentation forgeries being probed by the CID for this year. However, the number is probably higher as this unit investigates only frauds above Rs. five million.
The CID found that the suspects had removed records from Land Registry offices from Colombo, Gampaha, Avissawella and Homagama in the Western province.
Some of the portfolios had been altered and returned to the respective offices while others were in the process of being altered when the raid took place.
The CID is investigating how documents had been removed from government offices. The CID is also investigating officers, lawyers and notaries public who are allegedly involved in illegal land transactions.
It’s not just unsuspecting locals, but foreigners too who have fallen victim to the racket In one case a foreigner had bought a beachfront land in the Puttalam district for Rs. 14 million to build a hotel.
The foreigner was later informed by the Coast Conservation Department that it was an illegal land transaction and that the land belonged to the state.
The CID said there were several other cases where state land had been sold to foreigners.
Investigations have revealed that the suspects usually prepared documentation to show that ownership had been transferred from time to time over a long period..
The CID said land frauds occurred at different stages, including forging and upgrading of documents. “For instance when a temporary document is issued for a land it is sometimes changed into a permanent one,” he added.
“People should be careful when buying land. They should make inquiries from the area Grama Niladhari or people living in the vicinity. Usually people know who the previous owners were,” the officer said.
He said people should especially be vigilant about lands that are being offered at cheaper rates and if the owners claim they were in a hurry to dispose of the land.
He said it was advisable when making transactions to take a photograph of the owner of the land or of the person carrying out the transaction in case there was a need to trace them if there was any irregularity.
He said it was safer to carry out transactions through banks.