ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Finance has directed the closure of Chavi Land amusement park in Sulaimani, owned by detained New Generation Movement (NGM) leader Shaswar Abdulwahid, amid tax evasion accusations, according to an official document from July obtained by The New Region.

A document from the finance ministry’s tax office, dated July 21 and directed to the mayor of central Sulaimani district, ordered the shutdown of Chavi Land, citing the business owner’s failure to respond to several warnings issued to them regarding the payment of their taxes.

Despite the warnings, “the tax imposed on them by law has not been cleared yet,” read the document, calling for the business’ closure in accordance with the KRG Council of Ministers’ Resolution No.13 of 2019, which relates to the payment of taxes.

Abdulwahid, a former businessman turned opposition leader, was arrested by Sulaimani Police on August 12 and faces six months in prison under Article 431 of the Iraqi Penal Code. His arrest is not connected to the failure to pay taxes.

Article 431 of the Iraqi Penal Code states: "Whoever threatens another with committing a felony against himself or his property, or against the person or property of another, or with attributing or disclosing dishonorable matters in cases other than those specified in Article 430, shall be punished by detention."

The detention is in relation to a 2019 lawsuit by a former MP of his party, who accused Abdulwahid of threatening to publish explicit images of them.

Chavi Land shareholders have asked for returns on their investment for years. Abdulwahid’s arrest has reignited their demands.

Days after his arrest, around 8,000 shareholders in the Chavi Land project complained of having not made any financial profit, instead suffering financial losses, from purchasing shares of the amusement park 11 years earlier, and threatened to resort to the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court if their complaints continue to go unanswered.

Reporting by Hevi Karam