Iran’s state news agency ILNA reported on Wednesday, the 3rd of Shahrivar, that it had obtained documents and information indicating that there is no information about the fate of three Iranian oil tanker ships during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
According to the report, during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration, eight giant Iranian oil tankers were handed over to a Greek national without a legal contract, who “abused his position to take possession of all eight oil tanker ships along with the oil cargo aboard them and removed them from the country’s geographic domain.”
A day after the publication of this report, Hojjatollah Mirzayee, Deputy Minister of Labor, Cooperation, and Social Welfare, provided more details about the disappearance of these three Iranian oil tankers and the connection of this matter to the country’s pension fund in an interview with the newspaper “Shargh.”
According to Mr. Mirzayee, starting from 2012 when the National Iranian Oil Tanker Company joined the list of sanctioned companies and Iran faced limitations on oil transportation, following a proposal by the National Iranian Oil Company, the National Iranian Oil Tanker Company was obliged to purchase a number of ships under the flags of other countries and proceed with oil transportation.
He further explains that “within the framework of this proposal, it was recommended to the National Iranian Oil Tanker Company to hand over the purchase of oil tankers to the CEO of an unknown and obscure Greek company.”
The Deputy Labor Minister, naming a Greek national called “Dimitri Cambis,” describes as “ambiguous” the criteria by which the National Iranian Oil Company selected this individual.
According to Hojjatollah Mirzayee, “approximately 260 million dollars was paid to the Greek individual for the purchase of eight second-hand oil tankers, but the Greek individual broke his promises for a long time and finally, after prolonged delays and with the follow-up of the eleventh government’s officials, ultimately delivered five tankers and not only failed to deliver the other three tankers but also forfeited them.”
According to Iran’s Deputy Labor Minister, “the price of these three tankers was 28 million dollars and currently, these 28 million dollars represent a loss to the National Iranian Oil Tanker Company, and that individual neither provided the money nor delivered the tankers.”
Some time ago, Mahmoud Eslamian, the head of the National Pension Fund, announced in his meeting the arrest of an individual who had wasted 28 million dollars of the fund’s assets.
According to him, “a Greek individual, in the course of a transaction, had at his disposal 28 million dollars from the National Iranian Oil Company’s resources that he did not deliver; however, three weeks ago this individual was arrested by the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office. This is while over the past three years he had refrained from paying this amount and should return it to the state treasury.”
By putting together these two statements from Iranian officials and the numerical similarities and signs present, it appears that the Greek individual in question was arrested in connection with the disappearance of these same three ships at Imam Khomeini Airport.
Hojjatollah Mirzayee told the newspaper “Shargh” about how “Cambis,” the Greek, was arrested: “Cambis traveled to Iran last month by chance and is now in detention by the judiciary.”
According to Ali Rabiei, the Deputy for Economic Affairs, “attempts were made by the National Iranian Oil Tanker Company to prevent the arrest of this individual,” but with “the follow-up efforts of the National Pension Fund and SIMA (Social Security Investment Company), this individual was arrested.”
Hojjatollah Mirzayee, in explaining the reason for resistance against the arrest of this individual, pointed to the considerations that the arrested individual is a foreigner and concerns about damage to diplomatic relations between Iran and Greece.
According to Iran’s Deputy Labor Minister, Dimitris Cambis also had other dealings with the National Iranian Oil Tanker Company during the years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration, but had no commitments or guarantees with this company.
The publication of news about the disappearance of these three oil tankers has revived reports related to the loss of an oil rig during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration.
In the course of that case as well, the entire amount for the purchase of an oil rig worth 87 million dollars was paid to a Romanian company, but that oil rig never arrived in Iran.
Source: Radio Farda
