Iran’s minister of finance and the head of its Central Bank will give their final report regarding the $3-billion bank fraud at today’s cabinet meeting.
The Fars news agency reports that the fate of the CEOs at the Bank of Saderat and the Melli Bank will be determined today.
Yesterday brought the resignation of Mahmoudreza Khavari, the head of Melli Bank, because of his bank’s involvement in the fraud, which was initiated through the Bank of Saderat.
Meanwhile, the head of the Bank of Saderat, the head of the Bank of Saman Eghtesad and another member of Melli Bank’s executive management were dismissed.
Fars reported that Khavari’s letter of resignation included an apology to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. He has blamed the Bank of Saderat for perpetuating the embezzlement and expressed regret that the management of all the Melli Bank branches in the open region have “exceeded their authority.”
The head of the Bank of Saderat, Mohmmad Jahromi, was dismissed for issuing the first line of credit without the necessary due diligence, and managers of the Melli and Saman Banks are being questioned for not observing the legal loan limits.
The fraud is being attributed to the owner of the Amir Mansour Arya financial group, which has been able to fraudulently acquire over $3 billion dollars in loans and lines of credit over the past four year through its connections in the Bank of Saderat and the Melli Bank. The case involves eight public and private banks and has been dubbed the “greatest case of embezzlement in Iranian history.”
