A video clip released by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad at the Majlis this month has revealed the names of several people involved in serious financial fraud in Iran. These people are:

Said Mortazavi

The infamous 45-years-old is the central interpolator in this Mafia-style operation. He was the Tehran Prosecutor for seven years and came into limelight for mass closure of pro-reform newspapers and arrest of journalists. He is implicated in the death of Zahra Kazemi, the Canadian-Iranian journalist.

An associate of the president, Mortazavi is also implicated in the Kahrizak murders. He now heads the multi-billion dollar Social Security Organization which manages people’s pensions. In the video, Mortazavi discusses the possibilities of a “quiet” deal between Fazel Larijani (brother of the Majlis Speaker) and businessman Babak Zanjani.

 

Fazel Larijani

Fazel Larijani is the youngest of the Larijani brothers. The older ones control the Judiciary and the legislature while the other two have senior administrative posts.

In the video, Fazel Larijani suggests that Mortazavi sets him up with Babak Zanjani; that Zanjani gets him an apartment worth 800 million tumans; and that Zanjani pays him a regular salary.

In return, Larijani would use his influence with his brothers to protect Zanjani from possible legal prosecution brought by banks or other interested parties. Fazel’s eldest brother, Mohammad Javad, has been accused of the illegal takeover of some 342 hectares of farm land.  

 

Babak Zanjani

This 41-year old businessman made his money during the Ahmadinejad period and achieved fame for establishing companies to bypass international sanctions against Iran. The EU recently sanctioned him for these operations but he denies the charges.

He usually receives a percentage cut in the deal but in one case, Zanjani is reported to have been given 2billion dollars worth of oil to sell but he failed to return the money.

Zanjani owns the UAE-based Sorinet Group, an Islamic Bank registered in Malaysia and 60 other companies engaged in hotel management, construction, oil trade, air travel and cosmetics. He owns several football clubs too. Zanjani says he is an advisor to Mortazavi and wants to bring his capital back home and work with the Social Security Organization.

 

Hassan Mirkazemi

Owner of several steel companies, Mirkazemi is reported to owe millions of dollars to several banks but is refusing to pay. He is also known as the man of famous photographs.

In one photo taken during the 1988 unrest he is riding on the back of a bike holding a gun, ready to put down the protestors.  In another photo, he is with Zanjani in a private jet on route t Central Asia. Mirkazemi was also pictured at the meeting between Mortazavi and Larijani.