According to Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, Iran’s judiciary spokesman, a total of four people have been arrested who are linked to a corruption case at Bank Mellat.

The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced July 19 that Ali Rastegar Sorkhei, the former managing director of Bank Mellat, and his deputy were arrested. Rastegar Sorkhei, who has been linked to President Hassan Rouhani’s brother, Hossein Fereydoun, was recently let go after leaked documents revealed that a number of managers of government-run institutions were receiving exorbitant salaries. The managers of Saderat, Refah and Mehr banks were also let go after the leak of high salaries.

Mohseni-Ejei added that in addition to the four arrests, a number of individuals are also wanted, some inside the country and others outside. He described the cases as being in the “preliminary stage of investigation.” Repeating assertions by the IRGC, Mohseni-Ejei said that while the cases are related to financial issues, they are not limited to the issue of exorbitant salaries. The statement by the judiciary spokesman suggests that the judiciary and IRGC are working together on a corruption case much wider in scope. It is possible that the arrests could also bring in more people linked to the Rouhani administration.

On the scandal over the high salaries, Mohseni-Ejei said all the institutions in Iran were to blame for their “neglect” over this issue. While the media has focused on the high salaries, Mohseni-Ejei said that the corruption problems are also linked to high bonuses for managers and cases of employees receiving multiple salaries and taking out loans with interest rates as low as 1%. He urged the administration, inspection organizations and the judiciary to look into all aspects of corruption and just not just the high salaries.