The Story of Three Iranian Oil Tankers That Disappeared During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Presidency

Iran's ILNA news agency reported on Wednesday, August 25, that it has obtained documents and information indicating that the fate of three Iranian oil tankers during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency is unknown. According to the report, during Ahmadinejad's administration, eight giant Iranian oil tankers were handed over to a Greek national without a legal contract, who 'exploited the situation, took all eight tankers along with the oil cargoes they contained, and removed them from the geographical area of the country.' One day after the publication of this report, Hojjatollah Mirzaei, the economic deputy of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, provided more details about the disappearance of these three Iranian tankers and the connection of this issue to the National Retirement Fund in an interview with the newspaper 'Shargh.' According to Mr. Mirzaei, since 2012, when the National Iranian Tanker Company joined the ranks of sanctioned companies and Iran faced restrictions on oil transportation, at the suggestion of the National Iranian Oil Company, the National Iranian Tanker Company was obliged to purchase a number of ships under the flags of other countries and engage in oil transportation. He further explains that 'within the framework of this proposal, it is recommended that the National Iranian Tanker Company entrust the purchase of tankers to the CEO of an unknown and obscure Greek company.' The Deputy Minister of Labor names a Greek national named 'Dimitris Kambis' and describes the criteria for selecting this individual by the National Iranian Oil Company as 'ambiguous.' According to Hojjatollah Mirzaei, 'an amount of approximately $260 million was paid for the purchase of eight second-hand tankers to the Greek individual, but the Greek individual delayed for a long time and ultimately delivered five tankers after significant delays and follow-ups by the officials of the eleventh government, while he neither delivered the other three tankers nor returned them.' The Iranian Deputy Minister of Labor states, 'The value of these three tankers was $28 million, and currently, this $28 million is a loss for the National Iranian Tanker Company that has been lost, and that individual neither paid the money nor delivered the tankers.' Recently, Mahmoud Islami, the head of the National Retirement Fund, announced in a meeting that an individual had been arrested who had squandered $28 million of the fund's assets. He stated, 'A Greek individual had $28 million of the National Oil Company's resources during a transaction that he did not deliver; however, three weeks ago, this individual was arrested by the Tehran prosecutor's office. Meanwhile, he had refrained from paying this amount for the past three years and must return it to the public treasury.' By putting together these two statements from Iranian officials and the numerical similarities and existing signs, it seems that the mentioned Greek individual was arrested in connection with the disappearance of these three tankers at Imam Khomeini Airport. Hojjatollah Mirzaei explained how 'Kambis' was arrested to the newspaper 'Shargh,' stating, 'Kambis traveled to Iran accidentally last month and is now in the custody of the judiciary.' According to the economic deputy of Ali Rabiei, 'Efforts were made by the National Iranian Tanker Company to prevent the arrest of this individual,' which, with 'follow-ups from the National Retirement Fund and Shasta (Social Security Investment Company), led to his arrest. Hojjatollah Mirzaei, explaining the reason for the resistance against the arrest of this individual, referred to the considerations of the foreign nationality of the arrested individual and concerns about damaging diplomatic relations between Iran and Greece. According to the Iranian Deputy Minister of Labor, Dimitris Kambis has had other transactions with the National Iranian Tanker Company during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, but he had no commitment or collateral with this company. The news of the disappearance of these three tankers has revived reports of the disappearance of an oil rig during Ahmadinejad's presidency. In that case, the total amount paid for the purchase of an oil rig worth $87 million was given to a Romanian company, but that oil rig never arrived in Iran. In this context, Ishaq Jahangiri reported the loss of $30 million during Ahmadinejad's presidency. The son of Attaollah Mohajerani was arrested 'in connection with the missing oil rig.' 'Widespread violations occurred in the transaction of 25 oil rigs.' An individual was arrested in connection with the missing rig case. Zanganeh confirmed the 'disappearance' of an oil rig during Ahmadinejad's administration. A member of parliament stated that another oil rig was purchased but did not enter Iran.