Justice Minister: Part of Multi-Million Salaries Returned to Public Treasury

Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Iran's Minister of Justice, stated on Saturday that "amounts from the multi-million salaries of the Central Insurance managers" have been returned to the "public treasury." In an interview with Mehr News Agency on Saturday, June 22, Mr. Pourmohammadi said that the government has "decisively intervened" in the issue of the "multi-million salaries" of the Central Insurance managers. The Minister of Justice also reported the "identification of several other pay slips" and their "return to the public treasury," adding that "legal follow-up on these issues continues." Mr. Pourmohammadi did not specify to whom the "identified" pay slips belonged or mention their amounts. In recent weeks, Iranian media have reported on the multi-million salaries of several government managers, which has led to many official and unofficial reactions. However, a recent report by the hardline newspaper Kayhan criticizing a bank manager's salary of 234 million tomans has once again brought the issue to the forefront, prompting government and parliamentary officials to intervene. Following this report, Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, issued a letter to Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, ordering an investigation into the matter. Amin Hossein Rahimi, the head of the Court of Audit, also reported a special directive from Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, to this court for examining the issue. Mr. Rahimi explained that "according to laws and regulations, the salary payment system in the country varies for different agencies; some agencies are subject to the Civil Service Law, while others are not."