Ahmadinejad Threatens to Expose 'Business Transactions' of His Government with IRGC Quds Force

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, in a letter to the commander of the IRGC Quds Force, once again demanded an explanation regarding the 'delivery of millions of dollars' by this organization to Hamid Bakai and implicitly threatened to reveal the 'business transactions' of his government with the Quds Force. According to the 'Dolat Bahar' website, Ahmadinejad on Saturday, March 16, requested an explanation from Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC Quds Force, regarding the 'delivery of millions of dollars' by this organization to Hamid Bakai. He asked Soleimani to deny the allegation if the money was not paid and wrote that if the allegation was true, 'it should be clarified why, for what purpose, from which source' and 'according to which law' this money was paid to Bakai, who 'has no governmental responsibility.' Ahmadinejad also expressed his 'full readiness to clarify the business transactions' of his government with the IRGC Quds Force in reference to his previous letter. The former president wrote to Qassem Soleimani on March 11 that the judiciary is insisting on condemning Hamid Bakai to 'the heaviest punishments' under the pretext of some 'business transactions between me and you.' According to the Tehran prosecutor's office, Bakai has been accused of 'embezzling' 3 million 766 thousand euros and 590 thousand dollars from funds delivered to him by the IRGC Quds Force. Reports indicate that this money was supposed to be distributed among several leaders of countries participating in the Non-Aligned Movement summit. Bakai has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, a fine of 43 billion tomans, and permanent removal from public service due to this accusation. The former president's executive assistant had previously denied the allegation of receiving money from the IRGC Quds Force. Ramadan Sharif, the spokesman for the IRGC, in response to Bakai's statements, without referring to details, said: 'The verdicts of the courts are issued based on documented, substantiated, precise, and strong evidence, and deflection and the presentation of repetitive scenarios against institutions and individuals in the country do not reduce the charges of the accused.' However, according to an audio file published by the Dolat Bahar website on Friday from the spokesman's remarks at a speech, Ramadan Sharif stated that the Quds Force 'had no connection with Mr. Bakai at all.' Hamid Bakai has also been sentenced to 11 years in prison, a fine of 600 million tomans, permanent removal from public service, and restitution for 'embezzling 300 million tomans from the Martyrs Rajai and Bahonar loan fund.' The executive assistant of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of 500 million tomans for 'collusion in public transactions,' with the appeals court issuing a 'decision to rectify investigative deficiencies' and returning the case to the original court. According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison will be executed for Bakai. He was arrested and transferred to prison on the evening of March 13 to serve this sentence. Two days later, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff during his presidency, protested Bakai's imprisonment by burning his court ruling in front of the British embassy. Ahmadinejad has previously described Bakai's case as a 'conspiracy' to eliminate himself and his close associates from Iranian politics and accused the Larijani brothers of seeking future presidential and leadership positions. In a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic written on December 25 and published on February 24 on the Dolat Bahar website, Ahmadinejad called for Ayatollah Khamenei's intervention in Bakai's case and to prevent 'injustice' against him. However, Ayatollah Khamenei implicitly accused the former president of 'doing the enemy's work inside' the country on January 26. According to the Dolat Bahar website and Radio Farda.