Investigation into Financial Corruption Charges Against Qalibaf's Deputy Ordered by Leader

The head of Tehran's City Council announced that, by order of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran is responsible for investigating the case of a "10 trillion toman financial corruption" involving the former deputy mayor of Tehran. So far, five individuals have been arrested in this case. Mohsen Hashemi, the head of the City Council, stated on Friday, July 6, that the financial corruption case related to "Holding Yas," a company contracted with the Tehran municipality, is being pursued by Hossein Baqeri, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, at the instruction of the Leader. He did not specify the exact number but reported that five individuals, including Ebrahim Sharifi, the deputy of former mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, have been arrested, with some released on bail. Sharifi, prior to his appointment as deputy mayor, was a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the involvement of the Chief of Staff in this case may be related to his military background. Although Baqeri is not considered a judicial authority under the law, it is unclear why the investigation has been assigned to him. According to Hashemi, this case involves 10 trillion tomans in financial transactions by "Holding Yas": the municipality claims the company owes about 4.5 trillion tomans, which the company disputes. Last year, some websites reported the arrest of Ebrahim Sharifi on charges of financial corruption, and Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, confirmed Sharifi's arrest without providing details. Meanwhile, Abdollah Ramazanzadeh, spokesperson for Mohammad Khatami's government, had called on the Attorney General to provide information regarding the case of "10 trillion toman violations by some former commanders working in Tehran municipality related to Holding Yas." Mohammad Ali Najafi, the then mayor of Tehran, on January 13, 2018, accused the former mayor and managers of the municipality of various issues, including "spending the municipality's budget on presidential elections," "sudden hiring of 13,000 people before elections," "betrayal in the employees' reserve fund," and "arbitrary transfer of 674 properties." Najafi also stated that the municipality intended to send reports of four or five instances of "violations" during Qalibaf's mayoralty to the judiciary. However, a week later, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, criticized the publication of this report and announced that he had asked Najafi to "immediately" provide his documents on this matter to the judiciary.