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Iran oil minister warns foreign companies of linking with brokers

Oil&Gas Materials 19 October 2015 15:02 (UTC +04:00)
Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has warned foreign companies, which want to invest in Iran, not to establish links with brokers and corrupt intermediates
Iran oil minister warns foreign companies of linking with brokers

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 19

By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has warned foreign companies, which want to invest in Iran, not to establish links with brokers and corrupt intermediates.

Sanctions necessitated special requirements that came to an end, he said, adding in the post-sanctions era, oil transactions should be conducted with full transparency, Iran's IRNA news agency reported Oct. 19.

"We are in a full-fledged battle with corruption. Foreign companies should trust us and see their long-term credit," he added.

"I will make access to me and other oil officials easier for foreign companies in the future in order to refer to us, not to brokers."

Unfortunately, the number of corrupted persons rose during the sanctions, Zanganeh added.

The Supreme Court of Iran has ratified the sentences of the convicts of the infamous Crescent gas deal.

The convicts have been sentenced to dismissal from their governmental positions and each was fined $167 thousand.

It is expected that the verdict will bring about fundamental changes in the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum because some of the convicts currently hold key positions in the ministry.

Meanwhile, the first hearing of the Iranian oil tycoon Babak Zanjani started in Tehran Oct. 3.

After sanctions were imposed against the National Iranian Oil Company, Iran had to export a part of its oil by Zanjani.

In December 2014, Zanjani was accused of initiating an illegal $5.4 billion business deal, hanging on to money from oil sales ($3 billion) to the oil ministry and demanding that corruption charges be pursued against him. Zanjani was arrested days later.

In 2013, French oil giant Total was forced to pay US authorities US$398 million (320 million euros) in fines over charges it bribed officials in Iran to acquire oil and gas concessions.

Edited by CN

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