Recently leaked document from Iran’s Majlis (parliament) have provide ample evidence of the rampant corruption in the regime’s legislative branch. Compounding the issue is the exposure of a disgraceful proposal of a 2 trillion rials bribe to one of the current members of Majlis and the sale of the confirmation of qualifications of another member of Majlis. The latest corruption scandal of the regime is the case of Babak Zanjani, recently been exposed in the regime’s media under the title “Recovery of Stolen Assets,” which has become the focus of a struggle between the executive branch and the judiciary in this regard. Zanjani was a regime-linked billionaire who helped the regime circumvent oil sanctions and, in the process, had been embezzling billions of dollars’ worth of funds and assets. He is linked to many regime officials and has been sentenced to death on corruption charges.
On February 22, the state-run Ham-Mihan newspaper reported that the head of the government’s Information Council stated, “Before two years ago, before the current resistant president came to power, there was a resistance to the return of Babak Zanjani’s assets.” On the other hand, the judiciary, in a statement without any reference to the role of the executive branch, announced, “As a result of constructive interaction between the judiciary and the intelligence organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Babak Zanjani’s assets have been identified with his cooperation outside the country, and new information about his assets will be provided to the officials of the case.”
Babak Zanjani had close relationships with all the leaders of the regime, including former regime presidents Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Rouhani, with more than 70 companies and a fortune of over $22 billion. He received medals and commendations from them. According to government media reports, “Babak Zanjani” is just a cover name, and there are other individuals behind the scenes.
On February 21, the state-run Setareh Sobh newspaper wrote, “Babak Zanjani was not alone in the economic corruption project. One of the reasons for leniency in his sentence was precisely because he was being protected. There was a team behind Babak Zanjani, individuals who were not and are not ordinary. In fact, Zanjani was working for a group that could not be in front of the camera, become media figures, travel, or appear in court when trouble arose.”
Who else could be behind Babak Zanjani with such dimensions of theft, and who had such power and influence to keep this case stagnant for ten years? The answer to “who?” is clear. On February 22, Ham-Mihan newspaper wrote, “The principal debt of Babak Zanjani is $2.7 billion, and with an annual interest rate of seven to eight percent, this amount should have now exceeded $6 billion, rather than just receiving the principal debt.”
Another story that has made headlines in recent weeks is related to an institution called Kourosh Company, which has raised money from thousands of people and, not suprisingly, its owner has disappeared.
The looted individuals have taken to the streets to protest, but as usual, the regime’s official sources deny any prior knowledge or information about the case. The regime’s document registration organization has declared that the name Kourosh Company is fake and that no company with this name has been registered. However, according to regime media outlets, Kourosh Company has an e-Namad symbol, which is an electronic trust symbol. It is alleged that the company used this symbol and the advertisements provided by the regime to deceive the applicants.
The story of this theft, like thousands of similar examples, has so far followed the “usual course” and will continue to do so afterwards. Official authorities temporarily appease the protesters by passing them on to other organizations, spreading contradictory news, or making promises of legal action, until the matter becomes subject to the passage of time and is forgotten. Meanwhile, the judiciary did not hesitate to issue and execute the sentence of severing the hand of a man who allegedly stole a sheep.
On February 20, the state-run Arman-e Melli newspaper wrote, “The chain of corruption is not limited to one or two individuals. There are organized groups or individuals operating independently within various institutions, working to embezzle in different areas and actively organizing corruption. They can be referred to as multi-headed dragons. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the coming days, another 4 or 5 billion dollars will be embezzled. These incidents have become so repetitive that the people’s reaction to this phenomenon is merely a sarcastic smile.”
On February 20, the state-run Eghtesad News website, wrote, “Billion[-dollar] embezzlements have become ordinary.”
The embezzlements and billion-dollar thefts have become ordinary due to a clear reason. This regime is intertwined with corruption. Therefore, even though there are thousands of cases of these major thefts, they are never exposed to the public or even come under the spotlight of conflict between ruling mafia gangs. As a result, people smirk at the news of these embezzlements and the promises to combat corruption, which was one of the key promises of the regime’s election campaign.
For the first time, regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei himself used the metaphor of the “seven-headed dragon of corruption” to describe the pervasive corruption within his regime. However, it is widely known that the main head of this dragon is none other than himself. Ultimately, any large-scale theft and embezzlement scheme can be traced back to Khamenei and his office.
Therefore, to completely eradicate the deeply rooted corruption within this regime, which has permeated its entire structure from top to bottom, the only solution is to respond to the demands of the Iranian people for the overthrow of the regime at the hands of rebellious youth and resistance units.
