More than 30 say Erbil company bilked them out of thousands

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — More than 30 people are claiming an Erbil-based company fraudulently promised to secure them positions to study in Germany in exchange for thousands of Euros, a charge the company’s director denies, saying they are simply a third party.

Up to 33 people are alleging the Iraqi Germany Company, a mediating company based in Erbil, bilked them out of thousands without delivering results.

Some state they paid up to 7,000 euros to the company and are still right back where they started when they first applied.

One of the applicants who spoke to Rudaw’s Shahyan Tahseen on the condition of anonymity said the company was a branch of the German Aramcco Company. 

Aramcco was founded in 2012 in Stuttgart and the company provides people with job opportunities, healthcare, and chances to pursue studies in the country.

“When we applied, we were invited for an interview, and we were interviewed by Germans who worked for Aramcco,” the applicant said.

The applicant added they were led to believe the company was legitimate because the person running it was a well-known figure in Erbil.

“According to the contract, I was supposed to go to Germany within six to nine months,” the applicant said, adding at the time the applicants did not know the contracts they made were void.

 A lawyer representing some of the applicants said the Iraqi Germany Company is not actually a branch of the Aramcco Company and said Arramcco is not officially registered in the Kurdistan Region, a claim the company’s owner does not exactly disagree with.

“We are a service company that does not only work with Aramcco, but many other companies, we play a mediatory role and we are not a branch of Aramcco,” Hawre Dlzar, the owner of the Iraqi Germany Company told Rudaw English on Tuesday.

“The contracts signed are between the hospital or university and the clients, in this process we have only played a mediatory role and have been paid for our work, when it comes to the money of those hospitals and companies in Germany, we have sent it all to that party in Germany,” he said.

Dlzar also added that in every contract there are requirements for both parties and “If one party does not fulfill their duties, they will be held responsible for it.”

“There are people who had their visa rejected and the other party in Germany refunds them as long as they fully abide by the requirements in their contract,” he said.

The lawyer representing the applicants told Rudaw English the company has changed its name and logo to avoid being held accountable.

“The company is officially registered as Iraqi Germany, however if you look they have added an S to their name,” Mohammed Saeed said referring to a contract that had two different stamps from the company, one labeled as Iraqi Germany and another as Iraqi Germany Service.

“The company used to function under the name of Aramcco and we have evidence of that, however they later changed their name,” Saeed stated. “We have cases that have been on hold for two years now.”

Dlzar rejected such claims saying that the company has held the same name since 2016.

“I do not need to change the name, I am still doing my job the same way I used to before,” Dlzar said.

Saeed also added these contracts were non-binding as they were not signed by the company, claiming this was done on purpose to avoid responsibility, and the clients were persuaded by the name of Aramcco and the name of Dlzar, and signed the contract unilaterally.

However Dlzar denied the existence of such unilateral contracts, saying if a contract was made with him, he would have his stamp and signature on it.