Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 6
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
The Supervisor of Bushehr Province's Customs Ahmad Pour Heidar said that $140 million has been embezzled in the province's customs service over the past five years, IRNA news agency reported on Feb. 4.
The statistics relate to the Iranian calendar years March 21, 2007 to March 20, 2012.
Heidar said the number refers to the amount confirmed by the province's supervisory council and that it expects the total sum embezzled would actually amount to about $195 million.
"In the customs, we would present the manner of the embezzlement and the amount lost to the supervisory council, which would first study the general course of the case and then refer the case to judicial organizations," he said.
Heidar added that among those involved in the embezzlement there are four customs personnel.
"The prime suspect was arrested in Shiraz (city in southwestern Iran) last year and the other three have been bailed out," he said.
The charges in this case are supported by evidence suggesting the custom's staff collaborated with individuals importing goods through Bushehr's naval port, conducting fraudulent banking transaction through the repeated use of depository slips used in processing customs declarations.
Bushehr's bank deposit slips are meant to be used once per transaction, and documentation shows that the individuals, who took part in this fraudulent activity, abused their authority by enabling their repetitive use.
The official denied allegations that the former director general of the city's customs had a hand in the embezzlement.
Edited by CN