Jafari's Explanations Regarding the Arrest of Members of the 'Financial Corruption Network' Linked to 'Politicians'

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that the former CEO of Bank Mellat and his deputy were not arrested solely due to the issue of 'astronomical salaries' of government managers. Mohammad Ali Jafari accused them of being members of a 'corruption network' that, according to him, 'some politicians' are also involved in. According to Tasnim News Agency, Jafari said on Wednesday, July 30, 'People think this arrest is related to receiving astronomical salaries; certainly, receiving those salaries is one of the violations. However, the individual was arrested due to involvement in a larger economic corruption.' He also stated that the detainees were members of 'a network, and some politicians are also present in this network.' He emphasized that 'this is only one of the intelligence projects that the IRGC is pursuing regarding security issues and the matter of infiltration and economic corruption.' Media close to the IRGC reported on Tuesday that Ali Rastgar, the former CEO of Bank Mellat, who resigned during the issue of the government's salary slips, and his international deputy were arrested by the IRGC's intelligence organization. The arrest of this former bank manager occurred a few days after the statements of Hossein Taeb, the head of the IRGC's intelligence organization, who stated that this organization is 'monitoring the behind-the-scenes of economic violations' in Iran. In the case of the disclosure of the salary slips of the managers of Hassan Rouhani's government, Tasnim News Agency reported that Rastgar's monthly salary was '37 million tomans,' and he resigned from his position. Meanwhile, some conservative media pointed out that Rastgar was born in Sarakhs, the birthplace of Hassan Rouhani, and accused Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of the Iranian president, of having a role in promoting him to the position of CEO of Bank Mellat. Previously, Nasser Saraj, the head of the General Inspection Organization, also stated that Ali Sedghi, the dismissed CEO of Bank Refah, was appointed to the position due to 'pressure and lobbying' from Hossein Fereydoun, the special assistant to the president. Fereydoun and Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, denied these allegations. In recent months, conservative media and figures have repeatedly accused Hossein Fereydoun of economic corruption. For instance, Elias Naderan, Hossein Najabat, Alireza Zakani, and Ahmad Amirabadi, four representatives of the ninth parliament, accused Fereydoun and Saroush Naseri in a letter to the president of being involved in 'brokerage, especially in the currency sector in previous years' and also 'brokerage' in foreign contracts following the Vienna nuclear agreement. In the meantime, on Saturday, June 22, the Nasim Online website reported that following a letter from four Iranian parliament members, an arrest warrant for Saroush Naseri had been 'issued,' but he is currently outside of Iran and has not returned. A day later, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, denied reports about the 'issuance of arrest warrants' for Saroush Naseri and Hossein Mousavian, two members of the nuclear negotiation team during Mohammad Khatami's government, while stating that 'issues are raised, and they may be questioned one day.' The statements of the IRGC commander and the arrest of the Bank Mellat CEO come at a time when on Tuesday, Ali Yunusi, the special assistant to the president for ethnic and religious minorities, stated that the purpose of disclosing the salary slips of government managers was to 'discredit' and 'distract' the government and influence next year's presidential elections. Majid Ansari, the Iranian vice president, also accused government opponents on July 19 of stirring up the issue of managers' salary slips to 'cover up or forget the legendary massive corruption cases' of the past. Previously, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesperson, on June 25, in response to reports published against Rouhani's government, including 'hundreds of millions of tomans in salaries' for several managers, mentioned the existence of a 'think tank' formed with 'political motivations' against the government that 'determines every Saturday what should happen.'