Discovery of 15 Trillion Tomans in Irregularities During Initial Investigation of the Teachers' Cultural Fund

The head of the committee investigating the Teachers' Cultural Fund announced a 15 trillion toman irregularity in this fund and added that there may be more violations related to this issue. According to Fars News Agency, Jabbar Kuchakinejad, a member of the Education Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and head of the investigation committee for the Teachers' Cultural Fund, stated on Thursday, April 23, that 'we have audited 2 or 3 companies within the Teachers' Cultural Fund,' emphasizing that 'the Teachers' Cultural Fund may have close to 50 different companies, and there may be more violations that are not the responsibility of the Parliament but rather the judiciary.' He stressed that the total of 15 trillion tomans in irregularities is 'a figure we have reached in our investigation, and it is possible that the judiciary, when it enters this case and summons individuals, will arrive at a larger number.' The Teachers' Cultural Fund has over 800,000 members affiliated with the Ministry of Education and pays annual profits from the monthly deposits of teachers. For the first time in September 2016, Hossein Maqsoudi, a representative from Sabzevar who has a background in teaching, reported financial corruption in this fund, initially estimating the financial irregularity at 8 trillion tomans. Over time, this case has taken on broader dimensions, including the involvement of the series 'Shahrzad' and the connection of its investors to this financial corruption case, as well as the escape of one of the defendants with a debt of 500 billion tomans. In relation to these financial irregularities, various political factions in Iran accuse each other of involvement, with Mahmoud Sadeghi, a reformist representative, stating that these irregularities occurred between 2007 and 2013 during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, and it was discovered in 2013, when the fund was handed over to Rouhani's government, that the fund had '4 trillion tomans in uncollectible assets.' Conversely, given that Shahabuddin Ghondali, the former head of this fund who has been arrested in connection with this financial corruption, was appointed during Rouhani's administration, conservatives blame Rouhani's government and have used this issue in this year's electoral debates against Rouhani's administration. In November of last year, the Parliament voted for an investigation into this case, and Kuchakinejad promised that the results of this investigation would soon be presented in the Parliament's public session. Subsequently, the Education, Research, and Technology Commission of the Parliament announced in a public session on Sunday morning, April 19, that the Teachers' Cultural Fund had engaged in multiple irregularities, and these violations had been sent to the judiciary. According to a 60-page report from Mehr News Agency reviewing the performance of the Teachers' Cultural Fund, irregularities were observed in every case the investigation committee entered. The Cultural Plan, Golnabi's partnership contract, and the Cultural Investment Company are among the institutions and projects where multiple irregularities were observed. The activities of the Investment Bank, in which the Teachers' Cultural Fund holds major shares, and the debts of this bank have also been examined. One day after the announcement of this 60-page report, Mohammad Mahdi Zahedi, head of the Education and Research Commission of the Parliament, explained in an interview with the House of the Nation News Agency: 'The Investment Bank has lent money to individuals with no connection to the Teachers' Cultural Fund; for example, a homeless person was granted a loan of more than 100 billion tomans; behind this issue were influential individuals who manipulated the accounts to take this amount for themselves, only using this person's name.' A member of the Valayi faction of the Parliament added: '31 groups have received large loans and are not repaying them; for example, a loan of 668 billion tomans was paid between 2013 and 2015, or another group received a loan of about 400 billion from 2007 to 2013, but no repayments have been made yet.' The head of the Education and Research Commission stated that 'financial irregularities in the subsidiary companies and holdings of this fund have become institutionalized,' considering the formation of the Teachers' Cultural Fund and its charter as the foundation of all deviations and irregularities.