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Accusations of corruption grow at Iran's Bank Mellat

Since the arrest of the head of Bank Mellat, government officials have been divulging more and more details on the scope of corruption at the bank.
People walk past a branch of Iran's Bank Mellat in Istanbul August 18, 2010. Picture taken  August 18, 2010.       REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2HUBS
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Tehran public prosecutor Abbas Jaffar Dowlatabadi sat down with reporters and divulged new information about the corruption cases that have rocked Iran in recent weeks.

On the arrests at Bank Mellat, Dowlatabadi said that it was related to the “movement of 800 billion toman” (approximately $258 million at today’s exchange rate). Reiterating comments by the judiciary, he added that four people in total have been arrested but a number of other suspects are outside of the country. The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recently arrested the former managing director of Bank Mellat, Ali Rasteghar Sorkhei, and his deputy. IRGC commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jaffari said that Rasteghar Sorkhei was linked to an “organized group of banking corruption.”

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