Response of the Ministry of Education to the News of '8 Trillion Toman Embezzlement'

The Deputy Minister of Education reacted to reports about the '8 trillion toman embezzlement' in the Cultural Fund, confirming the arrest of some individuals in this regard, while stating that nothing has yet been proven as a violation in this fund. According to ILNA news agency, Naseri Zanjani confirmed on Sunday, September 14, without mentioning details, that some individuals have been arrested on charges of financial corruption in the Cultural Fund, and others have been summoned for explanations. He emphasized that these summons and arrests do not constitute proof of a crime. According to Mr. Naseri Zanjani, 'some related individuals, appointees, and affiliates of the members of the Cultural Fund have been summoned, and ... among them, some have posted bail while others have been released without even posting bail.' In recent days, some members of parliament, including Hossein Maghsoudi, representative of Sabzevar, reported the 'arrest of the stepson and second wife' of Shahabuddin Ghandali, the CEO of the Cultural Fund, on charges of 'misappropriating 8 trillion tomans' from this fund. Previously, reports had also been published about the summons of Mr. Ghandali. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran, also reported that this '8 trillion toman embezzlement' occurred during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. According to Mr. Sadeghi, it was revealed in 2013, when the fund was handed over to the Rouhani government, that between 2007 and 2013, this fund had '4 trillion tomans in uncollectible assets.' He announced that this fund had lent '3.2 trillion tomans' to three individuals, but these loans have not been repaid. Jabbar Koochaki Nejad, a representative from Rasht, also stated on August 15 that '6 trillion tomans of teachers' money has been plundered by a number of individuals, the investment bank has gone bankrupt, and many of this fund's enterprises have also gone bankrupt.' The Cultural Fund has over 800,000 members affiliated with the Ministry of Education and pays annual interest on the monthly deposits of teachers. The 'Investment Bank' is considered a subsidiary of this fund. Meanwhile, the parliamentary deputy of the Ministry of Education stated: 'The Investment Bank had granted large loans to five individuals before 2013 who were not members of the fund but were related to them, and they did not repay the loans.' He announced that the officials of the Cultural Fund in Hassan Rouhani's government after 2013 'only managed to recover part of these amounts, and since their efforts to recover the rest of these loans were unsuccessful, they have filed lawsuits against these individuals in the courts and are pursuing the matter.' Shahabuddin Ghandali, the CEO of the Cultural Fund, in a letter to the Tehran prosecutor on September 2, denied the accusations made by the members of parliament, stating that after the publication of this news, the value of the shares of companies belonging to this fund in the stock market decreased by 200 billion tomans.