Rabiei on the "missing" of $4.8 billion: The Court of Accounts' report is not "comprehensive"

In the continuation of the Court of Accounts' conflict with the government over the "missing" of nearly $5 billion in payments for imported goods, Ali Rabiei, spokesman for the government of the Islamic Republic, confirmed the statements of the head of the Court of Accounts about sending the institution's report to Hassan Rouhani before publication.

Mr. Rabiei also said that the report was not "comprehensive."

Meanwhile, Qasem Mirzaienko, a representative from Damavand in the parliament, demanded the names of 32 people who, according to the Court of Accounts report, have received government currency but have not imported goods.

According to IRNA news agency, government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Monday, May 1, that the Court of Accounts report was prepared in December 2019 and the $4.8 billion mentioned in it has been reduced to $3 billion.

He said that the government has identified the violations and informed the individuals concerned that if they do not import the goods by the specified date, their case will be sent to the Penal Organization.

Mr. Rabiei added: "It would have been better to ask the government what happened next and publish these two issues together to clarify public opinion and avoid creating any doubts in public opinion."

On Tuesday, April 16, the head of the Court of Accounts announced in a report in the open court of the parliament that during the distribution of 4,200 toman currency, $4.8 billion was paid by the government, but "there was no compensation for the import of goods."

A day later, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the report "100 percent false."

In response to these remarks, Adel Azar, the head of the Court of Accounts, announced that Hassan Rouhani had seen the institution's report on the failure to import goods in exchange for $4.8 billion in state currency before publication and had not "made any damage" to it.

The Court of Auditors' report states that 32 individuals and legal entities did not import goods into the country in exchange for government currency.

Meanwhile, Qasem Mirzaienkou, a representative from Damavand, in an interview with the Emtaad Telegram channel, called for the names of these 32 people to be announced.

The government spokesman also announced on Monday, without giving details, that a number of cases in this regard have been sent to the judiciary.

Meanwhile, Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the judiciary, said on Monday that verdicts have been issued for some cases and that some are still open at the prosecution.

On Saturday, in response to the Court of Accounts report, the Tehran Prosecutor's Office announced that a case had been opened against people who received government currency but did not import goods, and some of the defendants had been sentenced to prison.

The announcement names Ghorbanali Farrokhzadeh, Mohammad Khoramipour, Timour Ameri-Baraki, Alireza Ameri-Baraki, Morteza Fallah Ashtari, Hamidreza Moradi, Ali Zernani, and Yousef Jannat-Makan as some of the individuals who have been sentenced to prison in this regard.

After the allocation of government currency for the import of goods, various reports were received regarding the misuse of the received currency by some importers, and some importers were accused of offering imports made with government currency to the market at a free rate.

Source: Radio Farda