The Absentee Trial of Former CEO of National Bank to Be Held on November 21

The official news agency of the Iranian judiciary, Mizan, reported that the absentee trial of Mahmoudreza Khavari, the former CEO of the National Bank of Iran, will be held on the last day of Aban (November 21). Mizan published this news on Sunday, October 8, citing the Chief Justice of Tehran Province, and the case against Mr. Khavari will be heard in the Islamic Revolutionary Court. Other news sources also reported this on Sunday, citing the Attorney General of the country, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri. Mahmoudreza Khavari is one of the defendants in the infamous 3,000 billion tomans corruption case, who fled to Canada five years ago after the case was exposed in Mehr 1390 (October 2011) and Iran's efforts to extradite him have so far been unsuccessful. Since his escape from Iran, he has been on Interpol's Red Notice list, but last year, ILNA news agency reported that Interpol had removed his name from its wanted list. Following this news, the spokesperson for Iran's Law Enforcement stated that the reason for removing Mr. Khavari's name from the 'public portal of Interpol' was the identification of his residence, adding that the arrest warrant against him remains in effect. In Shahrivar (September) this year, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, acknowledged the ineffectiveness of Iran's efforts to extradite Mr. Khavari through Interpol and confirmed that his trial would be held in absentia at the end of Aban. He added that it would be in Mr. Khavari's interest to return to Iran and defend himself in court. However, on Sunday, Gholamhossein Esmaeili, the Chief Justice of Tehran Province, told Mizan news agency that 'given the absence of the accused in Iran after the issuance of the indictment by the Tehran Prosecutor's Office, legal actions have been taken for the issuance of an absentee trial order and the notification of the proceedings through publication in widely circulated newspapers has been carried out, and the trial date has been set.' He emphasized that 'the judicial proceedings will be conducted in due time according to legal regulations, and an appropriate verdict will be issued.' Mahmoudreza Khavari has a history of membership on the board of directors and also served as the president of Sepah Bank. He was appointed as the CEO of the National Bank of Iran during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency in 2009. During Mr. Khavari's management, the National Bank of Iran, along with several other banks, became embroiled in a financial scandal referred to as the 3,000 billion tomans corruption case. The main defendant in this case was Meh Afarid Amir Khosravi, who, along with three other defendants, was sentenced to death, and his execution was carried out on June 3, 2014. Other defendants in this case include Mehregan Amir Khosravi, the brother of Meh Afarid Khosravi, who is said to also hold Canadian citizenship and remains on Interpol's Red Notice list. In this context, the Attorney General stated that 1,200 billion tomans have been lost in the embezzlements of the National Bank and Mellat Bank. The spokesperson for the Iranian police stated that Khavari's name was removed from the Interpol website after his residence was identified. There is a legal battle between Khavari and a real estate developer over housing construction in Toronto. The International Police in Canada has promised to pursue Khavari's extradition. A member of the parliamentary commission stated that Canada is refusing to extradite Khavari.