Baku, Azerbaijan, August 6
Trend:
Iran has so far arrested 45 people as part of a probe into financial corruption and economic crisis, the spokesman of the country’s judiciary said on Aug.6 as the country prepares to face a return of US sanctions.
“Up to this moment, 45 individuals have been arrested over their role in (the foreign currency) market,” Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said on August 6, Tansim news agency reported.
He added that a number of them are under custody, and some of them have been freed on bail.
Yesterday, seven people including a former deputy central bank governor and five foreign exchange dealers were arrested for alleged economic crimes, according to the spokesman.
Ejei did not name the official but he appeared to be referring to Ahmad Araghchi, who some media reports had said was dismissed as deputy central bank governor after a wide public outcry and street protests over a rapid fall of Iran’s currency.
Rial has lost about half of its value since April because of a weak economy and heavy demand for dollars among Iranians who fear the effects of crippling US sanctions.
US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May, and Washington now plans to reimpose sanctions on Tehran. The first round of US sanctions on Iran goes into effect on August 6, followed by ones targeting Iran's oil exports on November 4.