Ramazan Sharif, the spokesperson for the media department of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), addressed the leak of an audio file that includes the force's former commander speaking about corruption. 

The audio was published by US-funded Radio Farda. In the nearly hour-long audio file, former head of the IRGC Mohammad Ali Jaffari can be heard speaking with IRGC economic affairs deputy Sadegh Zolgadr about corruption at the Tehran municipality under former Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is now speaker of parliament. The audio also makes references to former Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and IRGC Intelligence chief Hossein Taeb. 

In the file, Zolgadr tells Jaffari that Ghalibaf, while he was mayor, was upset about an embezzlement case involving a missing $3 billion. Ghalibaf had met Zolgadr in person and tried to convince him to sign a contract for the missing amount in order to help him cover it up. Zolgadr claims to have responded to Ghalibaf, “This is illegal. It will be to my detriment and to your detriment as well.”

The issues are linked to various IRGC economic dealings, which in part fund IRGC activities. According to Jaffari, one of the issues was over Yas Holding, a subsidiary of the IRGC’s Cooperatives Foundation. He said that Soleimani had complained to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the Quds Force was struggling to acquire funds due to the corruption. Khamenei had ordered that 90% of Yas Holding's earnings go to the Quds Force and the rest go to the IRGC. Yas Holding was dissolved in 2018, and some of its officials were sentenced to prison for corruption.