New Details on the 200 Billion Toman Embezzlement Case in the Oil Exploration Sector

One day after the spokesperson for the judiciary announced the arrest of three government managers in the 200 billion toman embezzlement case from the Ministry of Oil and the identification of 70 billion toman in assets belonging to the accused, the spokesperson for the Energy Commission of the Parliament stated that this individual 'had no opportunity to transfer his assets.' Asadollah Qarehkhani, the spokesperson for the Energy Commission, said on Tuesday, March 7, in an interview with the House of the Nation website, affiliated with the Parliament: 'This individual had not converted his assets into cash and currency beforehand and had no opportunity to transfer his assets, as he left the country three hours after the theft was discovered by the ministry.' He added: 'Since no one had discovered this individual's theft for 10 years, he continued his work with peace of mind and had not registered the assets in anyone's name.' According to Mr. Qarehkhani, several Maserati, Porsche, and Benz cars belonging to this individual have been discovered, and his 'premium mobile phone number' has been valued at seven billion toman. In recent months, a 100 billion toman embezzlement case in the Iranian Ministry of Oil has been raised, with some media outlets reporting the amount as 200 billion toman. In this context, Alireza Salimi, a representative from Mohalatat in Parliament, announced on January 26 that '15 million dollars and 60 billion toman have gone missing from the accounts of the National Oil Company,' and this individual has fled to Canada. The Iran newspaper also reported that this individual 'has been engaged in financial misconduct since 2009 and has been involved in financial abuse until recently.' Meanwhile, Bijan Zanganeh, the Minister of Oil, stated on January 29 that several managers in the Ministry of Oil have been dismissed due to negligence in this matter, and one person has been referred to the Administrative Violations Board. However, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, said on Sunday that the security and auditors of the Ministry of Oil must be held accountable for this incident, 'as it apparently occurred over several years.' According to Mr. Ejei, 70 billion toman in assets belonging to this individual and his associates have been identified, including 14 apartments, 25 plots of land, seven cars, and two motorcycles. He also mentioned that 12 individuals are being pursued in this case, and three government managers have been arrested. Some websites have reported that the accused in the oil embezzlement case is Jalil Sabahi, CEO of the Engineering and Supply Company of Petrochemical Industries, but he denied this and stated that he is still working in Iran and at his office. In recent years, several financial corruption cases have occurred in the Iranian Ministry of Oil, some of which are related to circumventing Western sanctions. Among them, Babak Zanjani has been accused of receiving 'one million barrels of oil' from the Iranian Oil Company and having paid '160 million euros' of the 2.7 billion euros he was supposed to pay, using the rest for personal matters. Babak Zanjani's debt to the Ministry of Oil was previously reported to be about 8 trillion toman, but ministry officials believe that this debt, including interest, has reached about 3.5 billion dollars, equivalent to about 15 trillion toman. According to ministry officials, the ownership of Mr. Zanjani's assets within the country, valued at less than about 2 trillion toman, has been transferred to the Ministry of Oil. In 2015, several conservative representatives of the ninth parliament reported a 5 billion dollar debt of one of the buyers of Iranian oil, referring to him as 'Babak Zanjani II.' However, Mohsen Qamsari, the director of international affairs at the Ministry of Oil, denied these reports, stating that this individual was a direct buyer of Iranian oil, not an intermediary. He mentioned that this individual is an Iranian owner of a company in the United Arab Emirates. Mohammad Ali Khatibi, the former director of international affairs at the Iranian Oil Company, also announced that this company has paid its debt to the Iranian Ministry of Oil. Another financial corruption case in the Ministry of Oil relates to the purchase of an oil rig for which payment has been made but has not been delivered to Iran. Court sessions for this case began last month, and the eighth session of the court is scheduled for March 14. The court for the Forchana oil rig case is being held while representatives of the ninth parliament and officials from Hassan Rouhani's government had previously reported the non-delivery of some other purchased rigs to Iran. For instance, Amir Abbas Soltani, a member of the Energy Commission of the ninth parliament, reported on Tuesday, September 9, 2015, extensive 'violations' in the transaction of '25 oil rigs' and stated that he had submitted the 'files and passports' of 12 of the 'violators' to the judiciary. Bijan Zanganeh, the Minister of Oil, also mentioned on Saturday, August 12, that an individual during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, at his 'request,' signed a contract for 30 oil rigs without conducting 'tender procedures.' He also referred to the formation of 'a detailed case regarding these rigs' to determine 'the damages and extent of losses in this case.'