IRGC Spokesman: 'A Bunch of Fraudsters' Operate in the Country's Contracting Sector

The spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reacted to protests regarding the economic activities of this institution, stating that 'a bunch of fraudsters' operate in the country's contracting sector and that until the middle of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, 'a significant portion' of the country's 'money-making projects' in the automotive sector was under the control of the Freedom Movement. Ramadan Sharif said in an interview with ILNA news agency on Tuesday, December 1, that the IRGC has 'trained a significant portion' of the country's contractors and specialists, employed them in important projects, and prevented their migration. In response to criticisms that the IRGC has become a competitor to the private sector, he said, 'If you find a single complaint stating that the IRGC has executed a project at a higher cost, longer duration, and lower quality, you are right.' Sharif's comments come as Akbar Turkan, Secretary of the Free Zones Coordination Council of Iran, criticized the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters in September 2014 for not attracting foreign financing for the Persian Gulf Bridge project on Qeshm Island, stating that 'the government cannot exert pressure on Khatam Headquarters.' He noted that this project, which was supposed to be completed in 2013, had only 3% physical progress at the time of handover to the new government. The IRGC spokesman also claimed that 'a bunch of fraudsters' operate in the country's contracting sector and that until the middle of Ahmadinejad's presidency, 'a significant portion of the country's economic and money-making projects' in the automotive sector was under the control of the Freedom Movement. Sharif stated that 'documents' supporting his claims are available but did not present any evidence. In 2013, the IRGC spokesman identified the economic rivals of the IRGC in Iran as 'national-religious forces' and stated that '70 to 80 percent of large companies' competing with the IRGC are 'affiliated with national-religious groups.' The Freedom Movement is one of the groups within the spectrum of national-religious activists in Iran. Previously, some conservative websites had reported that some oil projects had been awarded to companies owned by national-religious forces. Sharif's statements come at a time when a significant portion of the shares of major automotive companies in Iran, including Iran Khodro and Saipa, belong to government or semi-government entities. In this interview, Sharif also asked, 'Which political faction did the rival of the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command and the IRGC Cooperative Foundation, which bought a significant portion of telecommunications and has been campaigning against the IRGC, belong to?' On October 5, 2009, during the largest transaction in the history of the Iranian stock market, 50 percent plus one share of Iran Telecommunications Company was transferred to the 'Etemad Mobin' consortium, which includes the IRGC Cooperative Foundation and one of the companies under the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command. Moments before the start of the telecommunications stock transaction, the Yazd Kavir Pioneers Cooperative, one of the main bidders for this stock, suddenly withdrew, with some websites reporting that this withdrawal was due to pressure. The parliament also confirmed in a report that security forces had acted to eliminate the rival company of the Etemad Mobin consortium, emphasizing that the auction held in this regard was 'formal' and 'completely non-competitive.' 'The highest debt of the government is to the IRGC Construction Headquarters,' said the IRGC spokesman in another part of his remarks. He added, 'Can the government be so indebted to the private sector? In that case, they would strike every day, but that is not the case here.' The Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters was established in 1989 by the order of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and according to previous reports from the IRGC to the Budget Commission of the parliament, it has 812 registered companies in Iran and abroad. Many construction and infrastructure projects in Iran in various fields, including energy, telecommunications, transportation, and dam construction, have been awarded to this headquarters with the government's approval and without tendering in recent years. The Tehran Municipality also signed a 20 trillion tomans agreement with Khatam al-Anbia in 2014, under which the Tehran Municipality is set to allocate 10 trillion tomans in cash and 10 trillion tomans in non-cash for the execution of construction projects to this headquarters over the next four years. Economic experts and analysts describe the presence of security, military, and law enforcement institutions in Iran's economy as one of the serious problems hindering economic development, the presence of a real private sector, and attracting investment in the country. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, in July 2011 criticized the unregulated import of goods through illegal channels, using the term 'our smuggler brothers,' stating that they have punctured every place they wanted and import goods from there. At that time, analysts speculated that Ahmadinejad's remarks referred to the economic activities of the IRGC, but Mohammad Ali Jafari, the IRGC's commander, called those remarks a 'diversionary issue.' Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, also stated in February 2016, 'When you want to produce, a corrupt institution that I do not want to name, which can import smuggled goods, does not allow the country to grow. We must stop these corruptions.' However, it was not clarified which institution, entity, or organization of the Islamic Republic Rouhani was referring to.