Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 23 / Trend, N. Umid, S. Isayev
Former head of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Mahmoud Bahmani criticized President Hassan Rouhani`s administration because of the statements which claim ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has transferred an empty treasury to the new administration, Tasnim news agency reported.
"The treasury is not empty," Bahmani said, adding that CBI presented "the administration with some $100 billion of foreign exchange reserves".
He also went on to note that, the country's National Development Fund holds $32-$34 billion of assets.
Earlier Iranian media outlets quoted Iranian president Rouhani as saying that he has taken the office with an empty treasury and a huge amount of debts.
The previous administration's debts to the banks, private sector and contractors amount to 1800 trillion rials (some $59 billion based on the price of USD on the free market), Rouhani said on Tuesday.
On October 7, the Fars News Agency quoted the ex-director of the National Development Fund, Mohammadreza Farzin, as saying that the fund's assets amount to $54.6 billion.
It is while, Iranian first vice president Es'haq Jahangiri rejected the data, saying that the fund holds just $32 billion, the Mehr News Agency reported.
In mid-September member of Iran's parliamentary Plan, Budget and Audit Commission, Ahmad Tavakkoli said that Iran's Forex Fund assets have dried up completely.
Some $161 billion of the Fund's $176 billion worth of assets have been used by state, he said.
Iran's administration owed some $112.55 billion (based on the official rate of 24,700 rials per each USD) to banks and companies at the end of the last solar year which ended on March 21, Tavakkoli said.
Early in July, ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his government's economic management and said that Iran's foreign exchange and gold reserves hit over $100 billion, which indicates an increase by 80 percent compared to the beginning of his administration in 2005.