Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
Al-Monitor – Proceedings against the key suspects involved in one of the biggest ever fraud cases in Iran’s history have disclosed fresh details to the public. “Footprints of some celebrities and officials in Samen al-Hojaj case” read the Reformist Shargh daily’s July 18 front page. Samen al-Hojaj is one among several Iranian credit and financial institutions (CFIs) that have closed down due to bankruptcy in the past few years, triggering widespread protests.
Samen al-Hojaj was reportedly founded in 2001 with an initial capital of 63 million rials ($1,444). But in a matter of 14 years, deposits rose to an eye-catching 123 trillion rials ($2.82 billion). Starting from the northeastern city of Sabzevar, the credit and financial institution spread its reach by setting up 489 branches across the country during that same period.
The growth in assets could be explained by the agency’s tempting interest rates that were well beyond the official level approved and set by the Central Bank of Iran. The policy managed to attract depositors ranging from businessmen to ordinary people. And many among those people were retired public servants who deposited their yearslong savings or retirement benefits, hoping to receive considerable monthly amounts and retain the value of their cash amid high inflation.
Ever since Samen al-Hojaj posted bankruptcy in 2015, those depositors have been on the march. Protests have been held outside the CFI’s branches, the Central Bank and even near the parliament building. Demonstrators seeking to regain their cash deposits have in some cases been met with a heavy-handed police crackdown.
Now during the ninth and final session of the trial at a Tehran court on July 17, only the prime suspect, Abolfazl Mir-Ali, who served as the managing director, showed up. The second defendant, Mir-Ali’s wife, and the third, Mehdi Ramezanian, failed to attend.
An inspector representing the Central Bank of Iran at the court rejected claims by the main defendant who had argued that the bank’s assets fell short of clearing customer debts. The official presented evidence showing that the agency had purchased assets from its cash capital but registered them as personal property.
A probe by the Intelligence Ministry in 2013 had reportedly found Mir-Ali unqualified for the managing director post. Yet he kept his position, despite a record of 119 bounced checks in his financial sheet before founding the credit and financial institution.
Mir-Ali was sent to prison after failing to bail himself out on 40 trillion rials ($917 million), which is believed to be the largest ever bail issued in Iran’s history. The fate of the third suspect, Ramezanian, remains unclear. He has been absent in all of the proceeding sessions so far, and there are conflicting accounts about his whereabouts, with some reports saying he has already fled the country.
The trial further revealed that some celebrities and former officials reaped fortunes from the CFI. Those individuals, named only with their initials, include two state TV presenterswho are said to have been granted hefty amounts in loans as well as in “gifts.”
The case also shows that some 250 loans starting from 12 billion rials ($275,000) have been offered to well-connected individuals with interest rates as low as 3%. The figure is significantly less than the rate Iranian banks normally charge ordinary customers, which is far above 20%.
Among officials involved — but again named with only initials — is a former minister who served during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s second term in office (2009-2013). The ex-minister, who also held the post of international affairs adviser at the credit agency, received 1.24 trillion rials ($28.4 million) in loans.
The Central Bank has repeatedly lamented that Samen al-Hojaj and the other bankrupt CFIs worked without proper authorization, an argument not bought by many of the protesting creditors, while some say the CBI looked the other way when those CFIs kept operating. And the blame game has never stopped.
During an interview with Tasnim News agency in December 2015, conservative politician and former member of parliament Ahmad Tavakkoli said, “The Credit and Monetary Council had decided on closing down the [credit and financial] institution, but it continued to operate. … There is a need to find out who is supporting the managers of the institution.”
The bankrupt CFIs have been a thorn in the side of President Hassan Rouhani’s administration. The debt burden imposed on the government is certainly the last thing it wants amid a multitude of economic woes it has been grappling with. The government has already paid creditors 350 trillion rials ($8 billion) on behalf of the CFIs in a phased process. During a speech addressing lawmakers last December, Rouhani could not help expressing his dismay at those who stood behind the scenes and went the extra mile to block legal action against the bankrupt CFIs.
