CEO of Financial Institution 'Samen al-Hojaj' Arrested

Iranian media reports that Abolfazl Mirali, the CEO of the financial and credit institution 'Samen al-Hojaj', has been arrested and his bail has been increased to 4 trillion tomans. According to Tasnim News Agency, Judge Bagheri, who is handling the case, stated on Tuesday, July 25, that the reason for the bail increase was 'the request of several plaintiffs and depositors'. The reports do not mention Mirali's previous bail amount. According to these reports, Abolfazl Mirali was previously a member of the board of directors of the company 'Lisar Mah', which operates in the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors, and other board members include Manouchehr Mottaki, a former foreign minister, and Mohammad Hassan Khamenei, the brother of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Mohsen Eftekhari, the head of the criminal courts in Tehran province, announced on Friday, July 22, that one of the defendants in this case has fled. In court sessions, it was stated that Mr. (A.M.) and Ms. (R.A.) were present, but due to the absence of Mr. (M.R.), the third defendant, his case would be reviewed in absentia. According to judicial officials, this case has about 370 plaintiffs and involves 'approximately 12 trillion tomans in financial misconduct'. Former MP Ahmad Tavakoli stated that most of the loan recipients from the bankrupt financial institution 'Samen al-Hojaj' are experienced judges and children of prominent clerics and political figures. He noted that 'the CEO of Samen al-Hojaj has significant influence and even obtained the arrest warrant for Mr. Bahmani, the former head of the Central Bank'. Meanwhile, the Twitter account of the IRNA news agency published a picture of the CEO of this institution standing next to Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, and Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of the country. The financial institution 'Samen al-Hojaj' began its activities in 2001 under the name 'Cooperative Samen al-Hojaj of Graduates'. According to ISNA news agency, this institution went bankrupt due to investments in the housing market and the recession in that market. After going bankrupt, it was transferred to Parsian Bank, which announced that depositors with deposits up to 100 million tomans could withdraw up to 35 million tomans from their deposits, and the remaining amount would be paid within a year. Parsian Bank has stated that deposits of 200 million tomans and more will be paid in later stages. Last year, victims who had deposited in credit institutions held multiple gatherings in various cities across Iran. Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, stated on July 3 that the government had paid '30 trillion tomans' to the victims of financial and credit institutions. This amount is equivalent to the budget of the Ministry of Education last year. Mohammad Reza Tabesh, a member of the Money and Credit Council, had previously stated that financial institutions and credit institutions established strange connections and had infiltrated some agencies and institutions, and according to him, 'in the residences of some clerics'. In this context, the Research Center of the Parliament described the banking system as 'crisis-ridden'. Clerical representatives answered questions from MPs about financial institutions.