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Iran arrests 22 in bank scam case

Iran Materials 26 September 2011 22:13 (UTC +04:00)
Iran's Prosecutor General Hojjatoleslam Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei says 22 people have been detained in connection with the biggest financial fraud in the Iranian banking history, Press TV reports.
Iran arrests 22 in bank scam case

Iran's Prosecutor General Hojjatoleslam Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei says 22 people have been detained in connection with the biggest financial fraud in the Iranian banking history, Press TV reports.

Hojjatoleslam Mohseni-Ejei, who has been tasked by Iran's judiciary chief to probe the case, said on Monday that a number of those arrested have been freed on bail but the remaining others are still in custody.

Mohseni-Ejei has added that the exact nature of the fraud is still under investigation, reiterating that each and every individual involved in the scam will undergo the appropriate legal procedures.

Seven state-owned and private Iranian banks are said to be involved in a USD 2.8-billion embezzlement case, which involved forging documents to secure multi-billion-dollar loans and purchase state-owned companies.

Mohseni-Ejei had announced on September 18 that 19 people had been arrested in connection with the case. He added that necessary measures had been taken to prevent the criminals from leaving the country or transferring the money to offshore accounts.

Last week, Tehran's interim Friday Prayers leader Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi highlighted the assurances made by Iran's Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli to prosecute those involved in the economic corruption case.

Seddiqi urged authorities to show no mercy in prosecuting and punishing those involved in the case "regardless of their [social] position and rank."

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