13 Trillion Toman Fraud in the Transfer of Qeshm Lands

Shahryar Moshiri, the former CEO of the Qeshm Free Zone during Hassan Rouhani's presidency, reported a "13 trillion toman fraud" in the transfer of lands from the old Qeshm airport and "Dargahan Port" during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. Moshiri, who served as CEO for six months at the beginning of Rouhani's administration, stated in an interview with the Shargh newspaper on Tuesday, July 8, that the amount of "fraud" in the transfer of lands from the old Qeshm airport is estimated at "9 trillion tomans" and in the transfer of lands from "Dargahan Port" at "4 trillion tomans." He reported that during his management, he submitted a written report of "significant and widespread fraud" in the Qeshm Free Zone to the General Inspection Organization, the Qeshm Intelligence Department, the First Vice President, and the Head of the Free Zones Organization, but no action was taken by these entities. According to Moshiri, eventually another agency, which he did not name, intervened in the case, leading to the recent arrests of Qeshm Free Zone managers. He also reported that the CEO of the company that purchased the lands from the old Qeshm airport has been arrested. The state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, citing "an informed source in Qeshm," that two CEOs, the former legal director, and the head of contracts for the Qeshm Free Zone Organization have been arrested, and some board members have been summoned for explanations to "legal authorities." According to this "informed source in Qeshm," one of the former CEOs of the Qeshm Free Zone was arrested nearly six months ago, with a bail set at 300 billion tomans, but he remains in custody due to the inability to secure bail. The report states that these two CEOs were appointed as the fifth and sixth CEOs of the Qeshm Free Zone Organization by the then Vice President in 2010 and 2011. Previous reports indicated that Reza Mousavi and Esfandiar Heydaripour were appointed as CEOs of the Qeshm Free Zone during these years by Hamid Bakhaei, the head of the Free Zones Organization. Mohammad Sadegh Akbari, the head of the Hormozgan judiciary, reported on Sunday, June 21, that one of the former managers of the Qeshm Free Zone illegally sold the old airport of the island, including the runway and control tower, for "one-tenth of the original price." Meanwhile, Moshiri stated that 20,000 hectares of land from the former Qeshm airport, which was operational during World War I and has "historical value," was transferred for residential development to the "Golden Town" company during Reza Mousavi's management. He noted that this company had not completed registration procedures before this contract and was essentially a "shell company." According to Moshiri, these lands were sold "in installments and without a down payment" at a price of 90,000 tomans per square meter, while adjacent land was selling for 800,000 to 900,000 tomans per square meter at that time. He also mentioned that during Esfandiar Heydaripour's management, the land use was changed to commercial, with 14% allocated to the Free Zone and 86% to the purchasing company. Moshiri stated that ultimately the Free Zone's share in this contract increased to 17%, but "all the checks" that this company issued for the land purchase to the Free Zone Organization were returned "without being cashed." The news of corruption in the Qeshm Free Zone and the arrests of its managers comes as Hamid Bakhaei, the head of the Free Zones Organization and Ahmadinejad's executive assistant, has also been arrested since Tuesday, June 8. In 2011, following the arrests of Alireza Moghimi, Ali-Asghar Parhizkar, and Azadeh Ardakani, heads of the Arvand and Aras Free Zones and the head of the National Museum of Iran, who were identified as close associates of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei and Hamid Bakhaei, rumors of potential arrests of these two individuals for financial misconduct also surfaced. In response to these rumors, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called his cabinet a "red line" and stated that "if they want to interfere with it, then I must fulfill my legal duty." The former CEO of the Qeshm Free Zone also referred to what he called a "rent-seeking transfer" during Reza Mousavi's management, stating that in this contract, "extraction" of 100 hectares of land in "Dargahan," the largest commercial port of Qeshm, was transferred to a company. Previously, reports had emerged about the filling and reclamation of 35 hectares of coastal land at "Dargahan Port" in Qeshm for the construction of commercial and recreational centers. According to Moshiri, under this contract, the land was supposed to be equally divided between the Qeshm Free Zone and the contracting company, but the Free Zone's share of this land was "again transferred to relatives of the same company that extracted the land." The former CEO of the Qeshm Free Zone stated that despite his complaint and the complaint from the Environmental Protection Organization, the sale of these lands continues. Moshiri concluded by stating that in another "violation" in the transfer of 2,000 hectares of land in the Qeshm Free Zone, "legal regulations were not followed."