Judiciary Spokesperson Says Officials Linked to Tea Import Corruption Are Detained

The spokesperson for the Judiciary stated today, Tuesday, December 5, in his weekly press conference that some "managers and related individuals" involved in the tea import corruption case are under detention with "preventive measures issued," while others have been released on bail. Masoud Setayesh reported that investigations into this case are ongoing and emphasized that more information will be provided to the public in the future. The Inspection Organization announced on Saturday, December 2, the discovery of over $3 billion in corruption related to currency allocation to a "specific" company, which, in exchange for receiving $2 billion, failed to import the intended goods, and for the items that were imported, "exaggerated declarations" were made multiple times. Reports indicate that this corruption occurred during Hassan Rouhani's administration and continued until a few months ago under Ibrahim Raisi's government. According to the announcement by the General Inspection Organization, senior managers in the ministries of Agriculture, Health, Industry, the Central Bank, Customs, and the Standards Organization have been involved in this issue, and managerial changes were made to facilitate this corruption. New details have emerged regarding Iran's largest currency corruption case in the tea import scandal in an interview with Fariborz Kalantari. The Inspection Organization reported the discovery of $2 billion in corruption in tea imports. Additionally, new embezzlement cases have been revealed in Iran, including the issuance of 244 fraudulent marriage loans in Qom.