Accusations of corruption grow at Iran's Bank Mellat
Since the arrest of the head of Bank Mellat, government officials have been divulging more and more details on the scope of corruption at the bank.
Tehran public prosecutor Abbas Jaffar Dowlatabadi sat down with reporters and divulged new information about the corruption cases that have rocked Iran in recent weeks.
On the arrests at Bank Mellat, Dowlatabadi said that it was related to the “movement of 800 billion toman” (approximately $258 million at today’s exchange rate). Reiterating comments by the judiciary, he added that four people in total have been arrested but a number of other suspects are outside of the country. The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recently arrested the former managing director of Bank Mellat, Ali Rasteghar Sorkhei, and his deputy. IRGC commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jaffari said that Rasteghar Sorkhei was linked to an “organized group of banking corruption.”
Dowlatabadi did not explain what the “movement” of money entailed but said that “the development and investigation” into such a case is one of the challenges that judicial authorities have. He added that the prosecutor’s office had requested that Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Teyebnia and governor of the Central Bank Valiollah Seif present reports “about the actions of the accused.”
Dowlatabadi also asked regulatory authorities, particularly at the Central Bank, to take steps to prevent future violations of this kind, saying, “When the regulatory officials of the banks, financial and credit institutions do not perform their basic duties, the courts have no choice but to get involved and defend the people.”
