Another aspect of widespread government corruption in Iran revealed; $27 billion in export currency has not been returned
Amid a sharp increase in the exchange rate in Iran and expectations for the return of currency earned from commodity exports, Iran’s Trade Development Organization says that billions of euros in export currency have not been returned to the country.
According to reports from Iranian media, based on statistics and information from the Central Bank regarding the settlement of exporters’ foreign exchange obligations as of September 28, the Trade Development Organization states that approximately 16 billion euros of traders’ export commitments from years 2018 and 2019 to date have not been paid, and it emphasizes that this debt includes commitments from the government sector.
On the other hand, less than a month ago, Iran’s Chamber of Commerce had stated that 10.5 billion dollars of export currency that has not been returned to Iran is related to state companies.
The United States has also repeatedly condemned institutionalized financial corruption and the plundering of Iran’s natural resources by officials affiliated with the ruling regime in the country, considering them among the main causes of Iran’s economic and financial problems. For instance, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, had tweeted several times about Islamic Republic officials, saying that instead of helping the people, they have been engaged in corruption.
Accordingly, if the announced figures are accurate, the amount of export currency not returned to Iran is close to 27 billion dollars, and the government sector—and consequently the government—is responsible for at least 10 billion dollars of the unreturned foreign exchange to the country. Moreover, it appears that the number of companies and merchants who have not returned their export currencies to the country is considerably higher than the figure announced by this organization.
A member of the parliament’s industries committee had also stated that out of the total 3,500 companies that have not returned their export currencies, 75 “large-scale” companies, mostly state-owned and semi-state-owned, have obtained more than 5 billion euros in foreign exchange and have not yet returned them. In other words, state-owned and semi-state-owned exporters, despite receiving currency at the rate of 4,200 tomans per dollar from their exports, have not returned the foreign exchange.
Given the increase in the exchange rate in Iran and the rise of each U.S. dollar to approximately 30,000 tomans, sensitivity regarding the return of export-earned currency and its entry into the market has increased.
This widespread corruption in the field of exports, the foreign exchange market, and government-affiliated institutions occurs while citizens in recent years have endured severe inflation and heavy economic pressure, and have repeatedly staged widespread protests in objection to incompetence and economic problems.
The U.S. government has repeatedly stated that Islamic Republic officials, instead of helping the people’s economic situation, are pursuing theft from the country and assisting their proxy groups in the Middle East.
Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, coinciding with International Anti-Corruption Day, had stated: “The people of Iran have spoken clearly and loudly. They rejected forty years of corruption and abuse, and called for an end to theft and the end of choosing the interests of foreign agents over the interests of the Iranian people.”
Source: Voice of America
