Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.21
By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:
Former Iranian vice-president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi was sentenced to prison and fined, ISNA reported on Jan.21.
The court has issued its verdict on the case, including 5 years and 91 days prison and 38,500 billion rials (about $1.1 million) fine.
Rahimi, who served as vice-president from September 2009 to August 2013 during the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been charged in several fraud cases so far, but according to some MPs, Ahmadinejad used his influence to prevent investigations about the cases in the courts.
In a fraud case against the Iran Insurance Company, a defendant claimed to have paid more than $1.2 million in bribes to Rahimi.
Rahimi has reported links to jailed Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani, chairman of Sorinet Group, who is accused of skimming up to $2.7 billion off illegal oil exports, as Ahmadinejad's government tried to bypass international sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program.