Court of Audit Denies 'Dismissal of Tayebnia and Nobakht Due to Salary Scandals'

The prosecutor of the Court of Audit and the Organization of Planning and Budget denied the claim made by Jawad Karimi Qodosi, a representative from Mashhad, regarding a ruling from the Court of Audit about the dismissal of Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, head of the Organization of Planning and Budget, and Ali Tayebnia, Minister of Economy, due to the case of salary scandals of government managers. On Sunday, December 7, prosecutor Fayyaz Shojaei stated in an interview with IRNA that for a dismissal ruling regarding government employees, a report of misconduct must first be referred to the Court of Audit from a 'reference' and this court must investigate it. Mr. Shojaei emphasized that no report regarding these two cabinet members of Hassan Rouhani's government has been referred to the Court of Audit, and the news of their dismissal from government services is denied by the Court of Audit. Meanwhile, the Organization of Planning and Budget, referring to the denial of Jawad Karimi Qodosi's claim by the prosecutor of the Court of Audit, asked this representative from Mashhad in the parliament to either retract his statements or provide evidence for them. This organization emphasized that it reserves the right to pursue legal and judicial action on the matter in the highest judicial authorities of the country. Jawad Karimi Qodosi, a member of the 'Front of Steadfastness', stated in an interview with Mehr news agency that the Court of Audit had issued a dismissal ruling for the head of the Organization of Planning and Budget and the Minister of Economy due to the 'salary scandal of government managers', but this ruling has not been executed. He claimed that 'behind-the-scenes lobbies had put a lot of pressure on the prosecutor of the Court and the issuer of the ruling, and even consultations had been made from Mr. Larijani's side to modify this ruling; this is a disaster.' The Court of Audit is a supervisory body affiliated with the parliament that oversees how budgets are spent in government agencies. The head and prosecutor of the Court of Audit are elected by the votes of parliament representatives. The prosecutor's office of the Court of Audit can issue rulings regarding cases related to budget expenditures in government agencies, and these rulings are executable after going through the appeal process and the order of the prosecutor of the Court of Audit. On Sunday, October 11, the Court of Audit reported that 397 government managers received more than 20 million tomans in salaries and benefits last year, with the total excess amount paid to them being about 23 billion tomans. According to this court, in 1994, out of approximately 93,460 officials and managers in the country, 13,873 were senior officials and managerial ranks, of which 397, or about 0.4 percent, received more than 20 million tomans in salaries and benefits monthly. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, announced on Tuesday, July 22, that the government would seriously pursue the issue of 'astronomical salary slips,' and 'at least 13 senior managers' have resigned or been dismissed in this regard. Mr. Nobakht also mentioned in July that in response to attacks on the government regarding the issue of managers' salary slips, he revealed the existence of a 'think tank' that, according to him, was formed with 'political motivations' against the government and 'determines what should happen every Saturday.' Meanwhile, after the arrest of Ali Rastgar, the CEO of Bank Mellat, some judiciary officials, including the head of the Inspection Organization, accused Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of the Iranian president, of having played a role in promoting Mr. Rastgar to the CEO position despite his 'heavy case.' Mr. Karimi Qodosi has previously made many accusations against Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, and also against his government officials.