A card reader, gold, and currency were discovered in the office of the Iranian Oil Minister; details of the dispute between the Oil Ministry and the Intelligence Ministry.
The Islamic Republic of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence has announced the discovery of a card reader in the office of Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh. Iranian media say that the card reader was responsible for "tens of billions of tomans" of financial transactions.
The Ministry of Intelligence's statement did not explain the reasons for the existence of this card reader, but at the same time, media outlets are saying that there has been a disagreement between Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi and Bijan Zanganeh regarding the discovery of this card reader in the Oil Minister's office.
Systemic corruption in the Islamic Republic has increased significantly in recent years. In May of last year, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, while expressing support for the Iranian people, said that “we are witnessing financial and environmental crises in Iran. Corruption has engulfed the country. The regime is stealing from its own people.”
Previously, an Iranian MP revealed that three card readers had been discovered in the office of the Oil Minister.
It is said that one of these card readers belonged to the minister's office's water dispenser.
Some have also reported the discovery of significant amounts of gold and foreign currency in the Oil Minister's office.
It is unclear how these card readers were discovered. Each card reader has the ability to transfer unlimited amounts of money.
Iran's oil ministry said in its defense that an employee had been fired for the violation. However, the ministry did not explain how the card readers were possible without the oil minister's knowledge.
A member of parliament claimed that Bijan Zanganeh had obstructed further investigations.
In recent months, the US State Department's Persian Twitter account has been addressing corrupt officials in the Islamic Republic in a series of tweets titled "Faces of Iranian Regime Corruption."
Source: Voice of America
