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Will Iran's corruption fight attract private investors?

Iran has opened a series of high-level judicial cases against former administration officials, leading some to believe that the government is cleaning up its act to attract private investment in the economy.
Iran's first vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi speaks during a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister in Ankara on October 4, 2012.  AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN        (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/GettyImages)

With the imprisonment of Iran's former First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi Feb. 15 on charges of corruption and embezzlement, Iran's fight against corruption has taken on unprecedented dimensions. Incidentally, through this and other cases, the complex structures of financial and administrative corruption that persisted in the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad era are coming to light.

Rahimi, who served in President Ahmadinejad's government, was sentenced to 5 years and 91 days in prison and the payment of a fine of 10 billion rial (approximately $350,000). Rahimi was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, but the Supreme Court reduced his sentence. This is the most high-profile corruption case in Iran since the case against former Tehran Mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi in the 1990s.

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