The Investigation Service of Georgia’s Finance Ministry on Friday said it had arrested three individuals, including a foreign citizen, for attempted fraudulent acquisition of a large plot of land in the country’s east through production and use of forged documents.

The Service said its investigation had found the offenders attempted to carry out the scheme by using false agreements on powers of attorney and fraudulent purchase agreements.

They used the documents to illegally obtain a 2,710,000-square-metre plot located in the region of Kakheti.

It added measures by the investigative service prevented a “large amount of property damage” to the landowner in question, adding the crime was punishable by imprisonment between seven and nine years.