Protests by Shrouded Demonstrators in Front of the Central Bank Building

Hundreds of victims of the Caspian Institute gathered in front of the Central Bank of Iran in Tehran on Monday morning, June 8, chanting slogans. Previously, in Khorramabad, dozens of protesters attacked a branch of the Arman Institute with stones on Sunday. Videos shared on social media from the gathering in front of the Central Bank of Iran show that some of the protesters were wearing shrouds. Slogans such as 'Death to Seif' and 'Allahu Akbar' were chanted by some of the protesters. Valiollah Seif is the head of the Central Bank of Iran. According to images released on social media, police forces attempted to disperse the protesters with baton strikes. The Central News Unit identified the protesters as coming from several provinces in Iran. Tasnim also reported that the protesters blocked Mir Damad Street in Tehran. During the presidential election campaigns, Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, two rival candidates to Hassan Rouhani, criticized the government's performance regarding this issue. Meanwhile, protests against the Caspian Institute have also been held in other cities in Iran. In Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan province, dozens of protesters clashed with riot police on Sunday. Riot police, with the help of water cannons, attempted to disperse the protesters. They also attacked one of the branches of the Arman Institute with stones. Images released from this clash show that victims were throwing stones at the riot police. In recent months, numerous protests have been held in various cities in Iran against financial and credit institutions. Most of these gatherings have been in protest against the loss or non-payment of the principal and interest of people's deposits by these institutions. Previously, Farshad Heydari, the deputy of the Central Bank of Iran, stated that this bank continuously monitors unauthorized credit institutions and will deal with violators. Mr. Heydari also mentioned that the names of authorized banks and credit institutions are available on the Central Bank's website and urged people not to invest in unreliable financial institutions, stating that 'the responsibility for any problems' lies with those who invest in these institutions. In this context, Abbas Kamarei, the director of supervision at the Central Bank, also stated in an interview with Iranian state television on April 21 that the Caspian credit institution consists of eight unauthorized cooperatives that were operating. According to him, these eight cooperatives include Fareshtegan, Omid Jalil, Badr Toos, Payvand, Al-Zahra, Hasanat, Livestock Farmers and Farmers of Kermanshah, and Livestock Farmers and Farmers of Mazandaran, which were operating illegally and attracting people's deposits through various advertisements. This Central Bank official also stated: 'They had no commitment to comply with laws and regulations, therefore, with these deposit resources, they created assets, provided loans, and entered other assets such as real estate.' Meanwhile, the state news agency IRNA also reported on Sunday that the Caspian Institute received a license from the Money and Credit Council on March 18, 2016, on the condition of 'dissolving the eight cooperatives of Fareshtegan, Al-Zahra, Livestock Farmers and Farmers of Kermanshah, General Farmers of Mazandaran, Hasanat Isfahan, Payvand Mashhad, Badr Toos, and Omid Jalil.' According to this report, with the issuance of a license from the Money and Credit Council for Caspian, two credit institutions, 'Vahdat' and 'Alborz Iranians,' refused to merge into the Caspian Institute and continued their activities under the name 'Arman,' which 'now the depositors of these two unauthorized cooperatives are facing problems with the inability to withdraw from their accounts.'