Tehran Representative Publishes List of Major Debtors of 'Bank Sarmayeh'

Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, published a list of major debtors of 'Bank Sarmayeh' on his Twitter account on Saturday, December 2, which includes the name of Hossein Heydati, an investor in football, with a debt of 1,031 billion tomans. According to Mr. Sadeghi's explanations, this list includes 'details of debts and specifications of 20 major debtors of Bank Sarmayeh from 2006 to 2016.' The representative stated that the reason for his action was 'the misconduct of Bank Sarmayeh officials in granting large loans without collateral and the refusal of debtors to repay their debts and the bank's delay in collecting claims.' He also accused the Iranian judiciary of 'collusion' with bank debtors and stated that he is publishing the list for 'transparency and public awareness.' The published list shows that some individuals have taken several large loans from Bank Sarmayeh, including a person with the surname 'Aghdamian' who has taken loans at least eight times totaling 364 billion and 432 million tomans. The Mohsen group (currency traders) with four loans, a person with the surname Jahambani with six loans, and individuals Shamlouei and Ansari with four loans, as well as Rikhtegaran, Motaghi, and Saman Modall with three loans are other names mentioned in this list who have not yet repaid the principal and interest amounting to billions of tomans to the bank. Hossein Heydati, a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, owner of the Esteghlal Football Club, and investor in Persepolis Club, is another major debtor whose name appears seven times on this list. The total loan he has taken is 1,031 billion and 622 million tomans. Jahambani has taken a total of 1,345 billion tomans in loans, while Shamlouei, Ansari, and the Mohsen group have taken 515, 248, and 253 billion tomans respectively. A person named Rikhtegaran has received 622 billion tomans and Modall has taken 575 billion tomans from Bank Sarmayeh. Iranian media have previously published various reports about bank debtors, and officials of the Islamic Republic have also spoken about this matter several times. Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economy, had also reported in August 2014 that the head of the Central Bank had introduced the names of '500 major bank debtors' to the judiciary. Mahmoud Sadeghi had warned major debtors of Bank Sarmayeh two days earlier that if they do not visit the bank within the next 48 hours to resolve their debts, their identities will be made public. Mr. Sadeghi had previously stated that one of the major debtors of Bank Sarmayeh, named Saman Modall, had a business relationship with Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, but in one of his tweets on Saturday, he retracted this statement. He wrote: 'One of the major debtors of Bank Sarmayeh is Mr. Saman Modall; based on initial information, it was believed that this person had a business relationship with Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi. However, with further investigations and the explanations of his son, it became clear that the mentioned individual has no financial relationship or kinship with him.' In this context, the Central Bank announced the preparation of 'the second list of major bank debtors.' The release of wealthy debtors of the Cultural Teachers' Fund 'to pay arrears.' The head of the Central Bank of Iran stated: 'Bank arrears amount to 100 trillion tomans.' A warning from a banking official in Iran about 'the plans of major debtors and opponents' against banks. The brother of the first vice president of Iran has been 'arrested and a case has been filed against him' in Kerman. A suspect in the Cultural Fund case 'has fled Iran with a debt of 500 billion.'