Government Spokesman Hassan Rouhani Responds to Ahmadinejad's Name in 'Panama Papers'

While governments around the world have begun extensive investigations into the leaked information in the Panama Papers, the spokesman for Hassan Rouhani's government deemed the accusations against former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in these documents as 'less valuable' than to warrant a stance. According to ISNA news agency, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht stated on Tuesday, April 6, that 'an accusation has been made in a news agency, and there is no need for either the Islamic Republic of Iran or the individual accused to take a position.' He emphasized that these reports are 'less valuable' than to take a stance on them. Meanwhile, according to IRNA news agency, Mr. Nobakht mentioned that Hassan Rouhani's government has no 'official position' on this matter and will not respond to 'such statements.' The remarks from this Iranian official regarding 'accusations made by a news agency' come as the Panama Papers contain leaked information from the 'Mossack Fonseca' firm about the establishment of companies in global tax havens by leaders, politicians, and celebrities for tax evasion and money laundering. Many governments around the world have stated that they have initiated extensive investigations in this regard. The leaked data, amounting to 2.6 terabytes, includes 11.5 million documents from the 'Mossack Fonseca' firm, processed over a year by more than 100 news organizations led by the 'International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.' These documents, known as the 'Panama Papers,' were provided to the mentioned consortium by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which has published part of this documentation. Several Iranian state-owned companies are also mentioned in these documents, apparently operating to circumvent global oil sanctions. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, when one of the employees at the 'Mossack Fonseca' office asked a colleague in London about the owners of these companies, the colleague wrote in an email that the owner of these companies is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the then President of Iran. Ahmadinejad's office has not reacted to these reports; however, according to the website 'Ruydad 24,' Abdolreza Davari, a close associate of Ahmadinejad, described these reports as 'false and ridiculous claims, part of a new psychological operation' against him. Previously, officials from Hassan Rouhani's government had accused Ahmadinejad's associates of financial abuses and the destruction of national assets while circumventing Western sanctions against Iran. Cases such as Babak Zanjani's file and other issues like the 'disappearance' of an $87 million oil rig are cited as corruptions that occurred during the circumvention of Western sanctions. Meanwhile, Mohammad Ashrafi Isfahani from the Presidential Office has accused Hamid Bakayi, Ahmadinejad's executive deputy during his presidency, of having 'taken assets out of the country' and 'invested in ten foreign countries.' Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani's government, has also accused the previous government of having 'taken $22 billion to Dubai and Istanbul to sell and keep the exchange rate low' during a 17-month period.