TEHRAN, Iran — The trickle of leaked payslips of executives at state-controlled banks and insurance companies in Iran has become an avalanche, claiming careers and threatening the prospects of President Hassan Rouhani only 11 months before the country’s next presidential vote.
The scandal began on May 7, when leaked wage slips from Central Insurance of Iran showed that top officials at the state-owned insurer had received monthly compensation of up to 875 million rials ($28,600). The subsequent media frenzy forced the company’s president to quit.