Corruption of high-profile Iranian officials causes scandals

Ali Shamkhani (Right) and Abdollah Pouri Hosseini (Left) were recently arrested for government-related corruption and embezzlement cases.

Iran, August 17, 2019 - Virtually not a day goes by without a new corruption financial corruption case associated to Iranian officials coming to surface. The most recent case, involving Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Iranian regime’s Supreme National Security Council and the representative of regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has been making the rounds lately and has caused much commotion.

According to state-run Entekhab newspaper, “The publication of a video of a home belonging to the family of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council has become the focus of a new scandal. According to this video, this 2,600-meter home, worth one trillion tomans (approx. $90 million) and located in Ferestheh Street, belongs to the spouse of [Ali] Shahmkhani. This is not the first disclosure about the property of Shamkhani. Other reports purport that his daughter’s husband has built a huge house Lavasan and other members of his family have large properties in Tehran, Lavasan, Ahvaz, and the country’s northern region. The Admiral sailing company also belongs to Shamkhani’s children.”

The disclosure about Shamkhani’s alarming wealth is not an isolated case. In the past week, several other government corruption cases made the headlines. One notable case was the arrest of the president of the Privatization Organization after his resignation.

According to state-run media, Abdollah Pouri Hosseini, the president of the Privatization Organization and the Deputy Minister of Economy in the cabinet of regime president Hassan Rouhani, was summoned by the National Inspection Organization on Wednesday. On the same day, he resigned from his post and the Minister of Economy accepted his resignation. Hours later, he was arrested.

The Privatization Organization has notoriously liquidated many of the country’s public assets by selling them at low prices to private owners, most of whom are regime officials or deeply associated with the regime.

Privatization has been one of the main causes of the economic decline in Iran. In the past year, workers from many factories and companies across the country have held demonstrations and strikes in protests to the destructive policies of the private owners.

Rivaling ruling factions and regime officials regularly reveal each other’s corruption and embezzlement cases. In the past couple of years, many Iranian officials and members of parliament had accused Pouri Hosseini of taking advantage of his position to make personal gains.

After his resignation and arrest, Pouri Hosseini will be replaced by Davoud Khani.

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