The foremost corruption community concerned within the sale of Iranian oil has been working throughout the Islamic Republic’s Intelligence Ministry, in response to a number of sources accustomed to the matter.
The community was constructed round trusted intermediaries, known in Iran as “trustees,” who got oil to promote as a part of efforts to bypass sanctions and had been anticipated to return the proceeds to the state.
Iran Worldwide’s investigation discovered that the 9 included the kinfolk of senior present and former officers, together with a son of Supreme Nationwide Safety Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei and the sons-in-law of two former intelligence ministers.
On August 9, the Iranian Labour Information Company (ILNA), quoting Hossein Samsami, a member of parliament’s Financial Committee, named one of many trustees who he stated had didn’t return Iran’s oil income: Hossein Aghayari.
A day later, ILNA supplied additional particulars, saying Aghayari was born in 1982 and operated in Tehran utilizing Iranian and Afghan passports. It stated he had bought 40 Iranian oil tankers, taken supply of 90 million barrels of oil, offered it available on the market and didn’t return the proceeds.
Aghayari has been primarily based within the United Arab Emirates since earlier than the beginning of the 40-day conflict. Two oil-industry sources informed Iran Worldwide that 5 months in the past, he stayed for a number of days on the Ritz resort in London utilizing a Dominican passport.
In keeping with the sources, Aghayari’s identify and particulars of his actions had been intentionally supplied to Iran’s home media as a part of a safety operation meant to hide the identities of the principal figures in a a lot bigger community of Intelligence Ministry trustees.
The sources determine the chief of the community as a senior Intelligence Ministry official often known as Shayan, the ministry’s director-general for gas and power. He was dismissed 10 days in the past and, in response to three sources, is predicted to be arrested.
The sources say the group, often known as the Shayan Community, was answerable for about $11 billion in oil-sale proceeds not being returned to the state.
How the community operated
For the reason that administration of former President Ebrahim Raisi took workplace, Iran’s price range legal guidelines have allowed government businesses and state, navy and Social Safety pension funds, in coordination with the Oil Ministry, to obtain Iranian crude oil and gasoline condensate on the market as a part of efforts to bypass sanctions and return the proceeds to Iran.
The people and firms entrusted with promoting the oil and transferring the income are generally identified in Iran’s political and financial terminology as “trustees.”
The administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian has continued to make use of related mechanisms for oil gross sales.
In keeping with Iran Worldwide’s sources, a number of massive patronage networks emerged across the system, together with one working throughout the Intelligence Ministry by means of the cooperation of three figures.
One was Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad, who beforehand headed the Oil Ministry’s Gas Provide Oversight Headquarters.
The opposite two, in response to the sources, had been the principal organizers of the alleged community. One was Shayan, the Intelligence Ministry’s director-general for gas, who had beforehand served as a senior ministry interrogator in main oil instances.
Sources say that Shayan used his affect over instances starting from the lacking oil rigs scandal to the Crescent case to build up appreciable wealth.
The third determine was Meysam Darzinejad Rami, director-general of the Intelligence Ministry Pension Fund, by means of whom the sources say authorized cowl was supplied for the oil gross sales. He beforehand headed safety on the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), the huge financial conglomerate managed by the workplace of Iran’s supreme chief.
In keeping with Iran Worldwide’s sources, Shayan and Darzinejad constructed an in depth oil-sales operation round 9 influential trustees, one in every of whom was Aghayari.
Mohsen Fallahian, son of an ex-intelligence minister
The most effective-known members of the alleged community is Mohsen Fallahian, the son of Ali Fallahian, who served as intelligence minister below President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Ali Fallahian has been extensively accused of being one of many architects of the Islamic Republic’s marketing campaign of assassinations towards opponents overseas, together with throughout the interval when Shapour Bakhtiar, the final prime minister below Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was killed in Paris.
Mohsen Fallahian runs an organization in Iran known as Sepehr Sanat Negin, whose acknowledged enterprise actions had been modified to incorporate oil and gasoline operations in October final yr.
Iran Worldwide’s sources say Fallahian obtained authorization to determine an oil-storage facility at Shahid Rajaei Port in Bandar Abbas by means of his father’s affect and subsequently joined the Shayan Community’s oil-selling operation.
In keeping with the sources, Mohsen Fallahian lives within the UAE and trades oil below one other id, “Mohsen A.,” utilizing a Turkish passport. In a single occasion alone, the sources say, he transformed 200 million dirhams in Iranian oil income into cryptocurrency and transferred it to a European nation.
Ali Rezaei, son of Mohsen Rezaei
Ali Rezaei, son of Iran’s newly appointed safety chief Mohsen Rezaei, can be recognized by the sources as one of many Shayan Community’s trustees.
Rezaei is married to the daughter of Leili Boroujerdi, a granddaughter of Ruhollah Khomeini. For years, he served as deputy for communications on the Secretariat of the Expediency Discernment Council, successfully serving as his father’s deputy.
Iran Worldwide’s sources say Rezaei has for a while been dwelling on the Handle Mall resort in Dubai, the place he works as an oil dealer. They allege that he’s among the many Shayan Community trustees who’ve didn’t return tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in oil-sale proceeds.
Ali Bayandorian, a trustee for a number of networks
One other member of the alleged community recognized by Iran Worldwide’s sources is Ali Bayandorian, 52, who was born in Tehran and lives on Morvarid Avenue in Tehran’s Saadat Abad neighborhood, though he spends a lot of the yr within the UAE.
America sanctioned Bayandorian in January 2020 over his hyperlinks to Triliance Petrochemical, a Hong Kong-based dealer that the US Treasury stated facilitated gross sales of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical merchandise on behalf of the Nationwide Iranian Oil Firm.
Iran Worldwide’s sources say Bayandorian sells oil and petrochemical merchandise by means of a community of firms registered in Iran and Southeast Asia. In addition they allege that he handles monetary transactions associated to sanctioned oil gross sales and pays kickbacks to Shayan by means of an account within the UAE belonging to one in every of his spouse’s kinfolk, a girl named Neda.
Earlier than becoming a member of the Shayan Community, in response to the sources, Bayandorian was a trusted middleman for a community related to the Supreme Nationwide Safety Council.
As a result of he labored with a number of parallel networks, the sources say, he typically didn’t pay Shayan’s share on time or in full. Shayan due to this fact created a rival for him: Ahmad Maroufkhani, chairman of the board of the Oil Merchandise Exporters’ Union, whom the sources describe as one of many Intelligence Ministry community’s second-tier trustees.
Ehsan Sakhaei, son-in-law of Rouhani’s intelligence minister
Ehsan Sakhaei is one other individual recognized by the sources as a trustee within the Shayan Community. He’s 51, a Swiss citizen and the son-in-law of Mahmoud Alavi, who served as intelligence minister below President Hassan Rouhani.
In keeping with Iran Worldwide’s sources, Sakhaei lives in Dubai’s Imaginative and prescient Tower.
Six years in the past, throughout a Financial institution Mellat corruption trial, Sakhaei was accused of appearing as a fixer who used his father-in-law’s affect to safe multibillion-toman debt write-offs for main financial institution debtors.
Iran Worldwide’s sources say Sakhaei has didn’t return a number of hundred million {dollars} in proceeds from Iranian oil gross sales.
Ehsan Tahayori, son of an IRGC brigadier basic
Ehsan Tahayori is a widely known Iranian foreign money supplier who, in response to Iran Worldwide’s sources, failed handy over $700 million in Iranian oil income in a single case alone.
Tahayori, proprietor of the Arz Iran foreign money change, is the son of IRGC Brigadier Normal Shams-Ali Tahayor, often known as Normal Tahayori.
Iran Worldwide’s sources determine Tahayori because the principal suspect in a one-billion-dirham fraud involving Iran’s NIMA foreign-exchange system. In addition they allege that he was launched and helped to flee with the help of the Intelligence Ministry.
Two sources informed Iran Worldwide that authorities within the UAE arrested Tahayori throughout the conflict and that he’s now in jail.
Images revealed earlier and reported to indicate his luxurious automobiles at his villa in Lavasan had triggered controversy in Iran.
Rouhollah Razavi, son-in-law of a Paydari Entrance spokesman
One other determine recognized by the sources is Rouhollah Razavi, the son-in-law of Majid Mottaghifar, spokesman for the hardline Paydari Entrance.
Iran Worldwide’s sources say it was by means of this political connection that Razavi grew to become one in every of Shayan’s trusted intermediaries and describe his workplace in Tehran’s Kamranieh neighborhood as a hub for backroom oil offers.
The sources allege that Razavi has retained greater than $1 billion in oil-sale proceeds and supplied details about rival trustees in an effort to push them out of the market.
Mohammad-Hadi Momenin, main financial institution debtor and oil dealer
One other trustee recognized by the sources is Mohammad-Hadi Momenin, born in 1989.
Iran Worldwide’s sources allege that Momenin controls roughly $2 billion in Iranian oil income that has not been returned. His identify has appeared on the boards of greater than 40 firms in Iran.
Final yr, when the names of main financial institution debtors had been launched, it emerged that Momenin owed Karafarin Financial institution 743 billion tomans.
The sources say he fled the UAE for Oman throughout the conflict and later traveled from there to China, the place they are saying he’s refusing to answer his collectors.
Ehsan Dastgheyb, son of Iran’s ‘Bribery King’
The ninth particular person recognized by the sources is Ehsan Dastgheyb, son of Abdollah Dastgheyb, a nephew of a former Shiraz Friday prayer chief who is named Iran’s “Bribery King.”
Ehsan Dastgheyb lives in Dubai and sells gas oil for the Shayan Community, in response to Iran Worldwide’s sources. They allege that he, too, has didn’t return a big sum of cash to Iran.
Community comes below stress
Following Shayan’s dismissal, Iran Worldwide’s sources say each he and Meysam Darzinejad Rami are anticipated to be arrested and that the community has come below rising stress.
The sources say the Shayan Community is just one of a number of networks of trustees concerned in Iranian oil gross sales and estimate that intermediaries throughout these networks have collectively didn’t return as a lot as $110 billion in oil income.
In addition they say Oil Minister Paknejad may quickly be dismissed, though he has mobilized his political connections in an effort to stay in workplace.
On July 24, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi stated 59 instances had been opened towards managers of trustee firms, with 43 reaching the indictment stage. He stated 22 defendants had been despatched to jail and that Interpol Pink Notices had been being pursued for 15 fugitives.
The prosecutor didn’t publicly determine the 15 fugitives, making it inconceivable from the announcement to find out whether or not any members of the Shayan Community had been amongst them.
Iran Worldwide’s sources expressed doubt that the alleged community could be totally pursued, pointing to the highly effective connections of these concerned: they embody sons and sons-in-law of former intelligence ministers, the son of the secretary of the Supreme Nationwide Safety Council, and other people linked to the Paydari Entrance and influential clerical households.
In keeping with the sources, the Shayan Community alone was answerable for about $11 billion in Iranian oil-sale proceeds that weren’t returned to the state.
