Ahmadinejad’s Deputy Sentenced

Mohammadreza Rahimi, former vice president under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was sentenced to five years and 91 days in prison and a cash fine of three billion tomans ($1.1 million) on charges of “financial corruption” by the Supreme Court, reported the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) on January 21.

Rahimi was initially condemned to 15 years in prison and a cash fine of 2.85 billion tomans by branch 76 of the criminal court in Tehran Province. However, following an appeal by his attorney, the case was sent to the Supreme Court, which reduced the prison sentence by 10 years, but maintained the monetary fine. 

The head of the Criminal Court in Tehran, Mohsen Eftekhari, announced the verdict on January 14, 2015, but gave no additional information on the case.

Rahimi was implicated in the “corruption gang” scandal, known also as the “Fatemi House corruption circle” case and the “Iranian insurance company corruption file.” Sadeq Larijani, the minister of justice, first made the news public in March 2009.

“A large circle of financial corruption was identified in a government company,” Larijani said. “The members managed to cause several billion tomans’ worth of damage to public funds by forging state and legal documents.”

Then, in April 2009, Elyas Naderan, a member of parliament, told parliamentary reporters that a financial corruption network had been uncovered, known as the “Fatemi House circle”. It was revealed that Mohammadreza Rahimi was involved, tasked with distributing the scheme’s resources. Naderan also revealed that every member of the circle had been arrested — except for Rahimi.

Rahimi vehemently denied Naderan's allegations, calling himself a “soldier of the revolution and a defender of velayat-e faqih”, meaning that he was devoted to the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic.

“My devotion to the regime and its leader will never decrease even if I'm condemned a thousand times,” said Rahimi.

Ahmadinejad’s administration defended Rahimi and lodged an official appeal to the judicial court. As a result, a case was opened against Naderan. At the time, Ahmadinejad said his cabinet was off limits when it came to investigations and legal proceedings. “The cabinet is a red line,” he said, “And if it is violated, I must carry out my legal obligations.”

This led to cases being lodged against businessmen Jaber Abdali and Hamzeh Nevis, who had repeatedly accused two former governors of Tehran, Morteza Tamadon and Kamran Daneshju, of being involved in a corruption scandal relating to the Iran Insurance Company and the Tehran Governor’s General Office. No official or public information was made available about their summonses to court or about their trials.

Judicial authorities handed down a four-year suspended sentence to Esmail Masudi, who was deputy to both governors. They also fined him one billion tomans, and banned him for life for holding public office.

The Rahimi case resurfaced in 2013 after a period of silence, when the speaker of the Ministry of Justice revealed that Rahimi was accused of either 25 or 29 charges. Gholamhossein Ejee, the Prosecutor General in 2014, approved the statement.

“The verdict includes imprisonment and a cash fine,” said Ejee. “But the details cannot be disclosed until the case is concluded.”

According to ISNA, Rahimi’s attorney presented a 20-page appeal to the criminal court in September 2014 before the file was sent to the Supreme Court. Since then, there have been no developments on the case.

Read the original article in Persian