Ejei: 5 Officials from the Ministry of Industry Arrested in Illegal Car Import Case

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the First Deputy and Spokesman of Iran's Judiciary, announced that five officials from the Ministry of Industry, including a director general, have been arrested in connection with the 'illegal' registration of car orders, with four of them still in custody. On Tuesday, July 23, Ejei stated that one of the detainees is a director general of the 'Trade Development Organization,' and another is his deputy. According to the report, one of the detainees is the designer of the car order registration website, and another is a woman who had responsibilities in this 'organization.' Reports indicate that between July 19 and December 30 of last year, while the car import order registration website, affiliated with the Ministry of Industry, was blocked, 6,481 car orders were registered on this site. The head of the General Inspection Organization announced on July 29 of this year that the illegal registration of these cars occurred due to the 'hacking' of the registration site. However, the Ministry of Industry denied the hacking of this site but confirmed the occurrence of violations in the import of thousands of cars. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, also referred last week to the possible occurrence of 'coordinated corruption' in the import and sale of foreign cars, requesting the head of the judiciary to prioritize this case. In recent weeks, reports have emerged about 'violations' in the import of mobile phones, cars, and other goods that were imported with state currency. The spokesman for the judiciary also stated last Sunday that several 'major violations' occurred in the import of mobile phones with state currency, resulting in 'a number of individuals being arrested and some companies being sealed.' Mohseni Ejei also mentioned on Tuesday that reports from the responsible ministries have recently reached the judiciary, which will investigate potential violations regarding currency allocation. According to the previous government policy, the currency needed for importing all goods was provided at a rate of 4,200 tomans per dollar. This action drew criticism from several experts, and Akbar Turkan, an advisor to the Iranian president, stated that importers sell goods imported with 4,200 toman currency at a price of 8,000 tomans per dollar using 'a thousand tricks and deceit.' Ultimately, the government accepted the failure of this policy in July and established a 'secondary currency market,' which means a three-tiered currency system. In this plan, exporters who previously did not provide their currency in the 'Integrated Currency System' (NIMA) will offer it at an agreed rate to be allocated to non-essential goods that do not qualify for the 4,200 toman currency. However, no report has yet been published by the government regarding the activities of this market and the currency prices within it.