Iran's Attorney General: 27,000 People Banned from Leaving the Country Last Year

On Wednesday, the Attorney General of Iran announced that in the year 1395 (2016), over 27,000 individuals were banned from leaving the country, and more than 9,000 were prohibited from conducting transactions. According to Tasnim News Agency, on Wednesday, July 21, the Attorney General's office also stated that the judiciary had blocked the bank accounts of over 45,000 individuals. The Judiciary's Legal Department indicated that the Attorney General acts to ban individuals from leaving the country based on requests from the public prosecutor's office and the Central Bank. On January 30, 2017, Valiollah Seif, the head of the Central Bank, requested in a letter to bank managers that the prohibition of leaving the country for bank debtors be used as a last resort after legal procedures are followed. The Central Bank's head asked bank managers to request the prohibition of leaving the country for individuals with debts of 3 billion rials and for managers and legal entities with debts of 5 billion rials or more, who lack valuable and sufficient collateral. He also stated that the prohibition on the exit of managers of bankrupt and dissolved companies is only applicable to those managers who have been found guilty by a competent court or in cases of bankruptcy, where the competent court has issued a definitive ruling of bankruptcy due to the fault or fraud of the relevant manager(s). According to Article 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court can issue a prohibition on leaving the country based on the importance and reasons for the crime. The validity of the prohibition is six months and its extension is subject to the court's decision. The prohibition of individuals from leaving the country in Iran is carried out under five circumstances: confirmed tax debtors; debtors whose debts have been established by a definitive court ruling or enforcement issued by the Real Estate Registration Organization; individuals who have a bad reputation abroad; those whose travel abroad is deemed contrary to the interests of the Islamic Republic by judicial authorities; and those who have been explicitly denied the right to leave the country by judicial authorities. The term 'prohibition from transactions' refers to individuals or legal entities that are barred from managing their assets by judicial order.