Parviz Kazemi, Former Minister of Welfare, Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

The judge of the special court for economic crimes announced that sentences have been issued for three former members of the board of directors of Bank Sarmayeh, including Ali Bakhshaiesh, Mohammad Reza Tosehli, and Parviz Kazemi, the Welfare Minister during Ahmadinejad's government. According to him, each of them has been sentenced to '20 years in prison, 74 lashes in public, and permanent disqualification from holding public office.' Asadollah Masoudi-Maqam, the judge of the third branch of the special court for economic crimes, told reporters on Tuesday, March 18, that the sentences would be 'delivered to them tonight.' Judge Masoudi-Maqam did not indicate whether these sentences are final or subject to appeal, but the sentences issued in 'special economic crime courts' are final except for death sentences. The three individuals for whom new sentences have been issued include Parviz Kazemi, the former chairman of the board, Ali Bakhshaiesh, the former CEO, and Mohammad Reza Tosehli, a former legal member of Bank Sarmayeh. Parviz Kazemi, who was the Minister of Welfare and Social Security during Ahmadinejad's first term, confirmed in a previous court session that a sum of 30 million euros was deposited into his wife's account but claimed that this amount was received 'for consulting a South Korean company.' Kazemi was also accused of providing '46 unauthorized and irregular loans' amounting to about 2.5 billion tomans to companies, of which 41 were 'uncollectible.' According to Rasoul Ghahreman, the representative of the prosecutor, the violations of Bank Sarmayeh 'constitute a mega-corruption case,' and '400 suspects have been identified so far.' Hossein Hedayati, who is facing charges of 'disrupting the economic system,' is another defendant in this case, referred to as the 'mega-debtor of Bank Sarmayeh'; his fifth and final court session was held on Tuesday. According to Judge Masoudi-Maqam, the court for Mohammad Hadi Razavi, another debtor of this bank, will be held after the New Year, and the cases of other Bank Sarmayeh executives 'have not yet been sent from the prosecutor's office.' According to the indictment read in court, the main charge against Bank Sarmayeh is '14 trillion tomans of embezzlement in the assets of the Cultural Teachers' Fund.' The main shareholder of Bank Sarmayeh (47%) is the Cultural Teachers' Fund, and the current case was initiated after corruption was discovered in this fund. The Cultural Teachers' Fund has over 800,000 members affiliated with the Ministry of Education and pays annual profits to them from the monthly deposits of teachers. Currently, at least 10 cases related to 'economic corruption' are being processed in Iranian courts, including the 'Bank Sarmayeh' case, as well as cases related to 'petrochemicals,' the 'Iranian Development Fund,' and two institutions 'Alborz' and 'Vali Asr.'