Najafi Accuses Ghalibaf of Misusing Tehran Municipality Budget in Presidential Elections

Mohammad Ali Najafi, the mayor of Tehran, in a report on the status of the municipality of Iran's capital, accused the former mayor and managers of this institution of several issues including 'spending the municipality's budget on the presidential elections', 'suddenly hiring 13,000 people on the eve of the elections', 'betrayal in the municipal employees' savings fund', and 'arbitrarily transferring 674 properties'. According to ISNA news agency, Mr. Najafi stated on Sunday, January 14, that the Tehran municipality intends to send a report on four or five cases of 'violations' during Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf's tenure to the judiciary. He reported to the Tehran City Council that during Ghalibaf's management, a contract was signed with one of the police force companies for 1.43 billion tomans, but only 173 million tomans were paid to this company. According to Mr. Najafi, another 1.253 billion tomans were transferred to the account of the chief of staff of one of the former deputy mayors, and 'this money was also spent on the elections'. In another part of this report, Mohammad Ali Najafi announced that about four months before the 2017 presidential elections, 'suddenly' 13,000 people were added to the municipality's staff, while these individuals had not even worked a day in the municipality's contracting companies. According to Mr. Najafi, for every 100 positions, there are 426 people in the municipality; meaning this institution has more than four employees for each position. Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, the former mayor of Tehran, was a candidate in the 2017 presidential elections, and supporters of Hassan Rouhani accused him of using the municipality's budget for the presidential elections. Eventually, Ghalibaf withdrew in favor of Ibrahim Raisi, another conservative candidate. Majid Farahani, a member of the Tehran City Council, announced on October 14 that according to statistics, more than 130,000 people receive salaries from the Tehran municipality, while it has been officially stated that this institution has 68,000 personnel. According to reports from the Inspection Organization published by Rahmatollah Hafezi, a member of the fourth Tehran City Council, the Tehran municipality hired about 4,200 individuals related to religious figures and military officials as excess staff in the Tehran Metro operating company between 2011 and 2013. Reports indicate that 40 of the individuals hired in 2012 and 2013 were over 40 years old, and 30% of those who were hired in the Tehran Metro had education below the fifth grade or were illiterate, with their average salaries reported between 9 to 11 million tomans. Regarding the transfer of '674 properties' to individuals and institutions, the mayor of Tehran also stated that 'there is no accurate estimate of the value of the municipality's exclusive properties and their registration status', and during the previous mayor's tenure, '674 properties were mostly arbitrarily allocated to individuals and institutions'. He emphasized that the situation of 'holograms (selling mobile density) and the corruption arising from it is very regrettable'. Mr. Najafi also mentioned that 85% of the assets of the employees' savings fund are invested in housing and construction 'while this fund was supposed to invest in the stock market and economic issues'. According to Mr. Najafi, 70% of the invested amount in housing and construction was invested in a project named 'Sarina Kish' which had 'financial corruption'. He added: 'With the pressure we exerted, part of the money was returned, which in this case was truly a treacherous act in the employees' savings fund'. According to published reports, the 'Sarina Kish' company operates in the field of construction and sale of buildings on Kish Island. Meanwhile, Bahman Keshavarz, former president of the Iranian Bar Association, commented on Mr. Najafi's statements regarding 'money laundering' by the former municipality during the elections, saying: 'The prosecutor's intervention is not only permissible but necessary, given that it concerns public funds or public money'. Abdolhossein Mokhtabad, a former member of the Tehran City Council, also stated in an interview with ISNA that Mr. Najafi's report 'does not raise a new issue, and we have been shouting about these issues for four years'. Several members of the Tehran City Council and Iranian media in 2016 accused the Tehran municipality of 'violating' over 2 trillion tomans in selling its properties with more than 50% discounts to city council members, municipality managers, some journalists from state radio and television, and the housing cooperative of the judiciary. Regarding the transfer of Abbasabad lands to military institutions, Mohammad Ali Najafi also reported that during Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf's management, part of the Abbasabad lands was transferred to the police and military institutions, and 'since the contract was signed, there are legal issues to prevent their work'. He also mentioned that the Hamshahri Institute has a 'disastrous financial situation' and the return rate of some Hamshahri magazines is over 40%. In another part of his report, Mr. Najafi announced that the total debt of the Tehran municipality is 52.1 trillion tomans, which is three times the current budget of the municipality. According to the mayor of Tehran, 29.51 trillion tomans is the registered debt of the Tehran municipality, 22.6 trillion tomans is unregistered debt, and about 8 trillion tomans is also 'potential debt' of this institution. Mr. Najafi also stated that 54% of the assets listed in the financial statements of the Tehran municipality's subsidiaries 'have not been audited'. Mahmoud Mirloohi, a member of the City Council, reported on Saturday, October 7, that the mayor of Tehran announced the municipality's debts to be 52.5 trillion tomans, of which 30 trillion tomans is 'definite debt'. The reformists, who currently control the municipality and the Tehran City Council, have criticized Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf's actions, believing that he created an unfavorable financial situation in this institution during his 12 years as mayor. 'Lack of financial discipline and increased municipality expenses', 'excessive sale of density', 'increase in Tehran municipality personnel', and 'widespread corruption' are among the criticisms of the reformists regarding Ghalibaf's management. However, Mr. Ghalibaf has denied all reports related to corruption in the municipality, stating that there has not even been a single case of 'organized violation' in this institution.