Tehran Prosecutor: The Case of Bank Mellat Involves the Transfer of 800 Billion Tomans

The public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran announced that the case involving the arrest of the former CEO of Bank Mellat is about the 'transfer of 800 billion tomans.' According to a report on Tuesday, August 4, by Fars News Agency, Abbas Jafari Dolat Abadi also stated that four individuals accused in this case have been arrested, and 'several suspects' are abroad. Mr. Jafari Dolat Abadi mentioned that the Minister of Economy and the Governor of the Central Bank have been asked to report on the 'actions of the accused.' The Tehran public prosecutor did not provide further details about this case. Ali Rastgar, the former CEO of Bank Mellat, has been identified in conservative media as one of the recipients of 'unconventional' salaries, and he had resigned from his position. However, officials from the judiciary and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have stated that he was not arrested solely due to the salary issues. Just a day before Mr. Dolat Abadi's remarks, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, stated: 'This case concerns financial matters, for example, for 16 sessions, they received $125,000 in fees, which could be considered illegal receipt.' Media close to the IRGC reported on Tuesday, July 29, that Ali Rastgar, the former CEO of Bank Mellat, and his international deputy were arrested by the IRGC Intelligence Organization. A day after these statements, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, accused the detainees of being members of an economic 'corruption network' that, according to him, 'some politicians' are also involved in. Meanwhile, some conservative media pointed out that Mr. Rastgar was born in Sarakhs, the birthplace of Hassan Rouhani, and accused Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of the Iranian president, of playing a role in his promotion to the position of CEO of Bank Mellat. In recent months, conservative media and figures have repeatedly accused Hossein Fereydoun of economic corruption. Additionally, a day before the arrest of the Bank Mellat CEO, Ali Younesi, the special assistant to the president for ethnic and religious minorities, stated that the purpose of publishing the salary slips of government managers was to 'discredit' and 'distract' the government and influence the upcoming presidential elections. Majid Ansari, the Iranian vice president, also accused the government's opponents on July 9 of trying to 'cover up or forget' the 'legendary' massive corruption cases of the past by bringing attention to the salary slips of managers. Previously, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, on June 15, reacted to reports published against Rouhani's government, including the 'hundreds of millions of tomans' salaries of several managers, revealing the existence of a 'think tank' formed with 'political motivations' against the government that 'determines what should happen every Saturday.'