The Position of Plaintiffs and Defendants in the NAJA Cooperative Foundation

While it has been a long time since the news of abuse in the NAJA Cooperative Foundation was published, a complete picture of how the corruption occurred and its extent has not yet been provided to the public. The representative from Kerman in the Parliament has also told the Shargh newspaper that the Parliament's efforts to obtain details of this corruption case have not been fruitful. Mohammad Reza Pourabrahimi, the representative from Kerman, stated in an interview with Shargh that an investigation into the NAJA Foundation is currently not possible. He mentioned during a public session of Parliament on June 7 that NAJA has not provided any reports or information to the Parliament: "We raised the issue of investigating the NAJA Cooperative last year. Unfortunately, there are numerous economic violations in the NAJA Cooperative. We asked our colleagues to provide us with a report. Until today, they have not given us even a page of report regarding the major economic violations they have committed." According to Article 198 of the Internal Regulations of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, based on Article 76 of the Constitution, any representative can submit a written request to the Parliament if they deem it necessary to investigate any affairs of the country, following legal procedures. However, the right of Parliament representatives to investigate does not include agencies and institutions that are overseen by the Supreme Leader, the Assembly of Experts, and the Guardian Council. This is because the precondition for investigating the NAJA Cooperative, which is part of the Islamic Republic's armed forces, is the approval of Mr. Khamenei. From the statements of the Kerman representative to Shargh, it appears that the Supreme Leader has either opposed the request for investigation or has not yet announced his agreement. I asked Reza Alijani, an analyst on Iranian issues in Paris, whether it is conceivable that Mr. Khamenei would oppose an investigation into the corruption case in the NAJA Cooperative. Reza Alijani: "This possibility is not unlikely, as Mr. Khamenei recently expressed his displeasure in a conversation with university professors regarding the scholarship issue being brought to the newspapers, calling it one of the worst things that has happened in recent years. Previous reports indicate that this matter has been monitored by the Ministry of Intelligence, and since both NAJA and the municipality are involved, especially the mayor of Tehran often mentions that he is in contact with the office and the son of the Supreme Leader. In any case, this case has entered the judiciary with the permission of Mr. Khamenei, and it is said that the officials and their children, including some relatives of judicial officials and acquaintances of Mr. Ejei, are involved. Thus, the judiciary has entered this issue with the permission of the office. I asked Reza Alijani what reasons might lead Mr. Khamenei to oppose an investigation into this case. "Corruption exists in a system over which he has absolute authority. Furthermore, he is particularly sensitive to the corruption that occurred especially during Ahmadinejad's presidency and afterward, as this government was particularly endorsed by Mr. Khamenei. For a long time, Mr. Khamenei had a dream, even from the era of Hashemi and then Khatami, that if we hand over the country and the economy to the Hezbollah youth, they would perform better and be more honest. However, experience has shown that in both areas, this dream has suffered a severe defeat. The most corrupt government in history, at least since the revolution, was Ahmadinejad's government, which was also the most inefficient, bringing severe crises. Therefore, it is conceivable that he would not want a broader group, which in some cases is outside his control, to gain insight into this case. One of the causes of structural corruption is this issue: the lack of media freedom and the lack of public opinion freedom to confront corruption." The news of the abuse in the NAJA Cooperative Foundation reached the media in May, about two months after the dismissal of Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, the commander of the police force, and the complete details of this abuse have still not been provided to the public. In response to the media coverage of this news, Saeed Montazeralmahdi, the spokesperson for NAJA, confirmed this news on June 7 on the Islamic Republic's television, stating: "The deviations that occurred in the subsidiary companies of the foundation have been confirmed, and violations have taken place. The then-commander of NAJA personally initiated a judicial case, followed up on it, and submitted this case to the judiciary." Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam himself explained the abuse on June 9 on the Islamic Republic's television, stating that he wanted the matter not to go to court, but the abusers were not willing to compromise: "During my tenure in the police force, we encountered a case of economic corruption in the NAJA Cooperative. In an investment company called Ghadir, this investment company should not manage anything. It can invest under 50 percent or, for example, buy shares in the stock market, etc. It should not take on management. It only invests under 50 percent. We realized that some of these individuals abused their positions. They established companies outside and invested in their own companies. This is against the law. We spoke to them and said that their actions were illegal. Regardless of their violations, they should return the assets, and we would overlook the violations they committed." According to the Khabar Online website, the corruption case of 12 trillion rials in the NAJA Cooperative has so far led to the arrest of several former police officials and the interrogation of the former commander of NAJA.