Card reader device, gold, and foreign currency discovered in Iranian Oil Minister’s office; details of dispute between Oil Ministry and Intelligence Ministry
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has announced the discovery of a card reader device in the office of Bijan Zanganeh, Iran’s Oil Minister. Iranian media outlets report that this card reader device had “tens of billions of tomans” in financial transactions.
The Ministry of Intelligence’s statement did not explain the reasons for the existence of this card reader device, but at the same time media reports indicate that the discovery of this device in the Oil Minister’s office has created a disagreement between Mahmoud Alavi, the Intelligence Minister, and Bijan Zanganeh.
Systematic corruption in the Islamic Republic has seen a significant increase in recent years. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated last year in April, while expressing support for the Iranian people, that “we are witnessing financial and environmental crises in Iran. Corruption has overwhelmed the country. The regime steals from its own people.”
Previously, an Iranian parliamentary representative had revealed that three card reader devices were discovered in the Oil Minister’s office.
It was stated that one of these card readers belonged to the Oil Minister’s office water attendant.
There were also reports of significant amounts of gold and foreign currency being discovered in the Oil Minister’s office.
It is unclear how these card reader devices were discovered. Each card reader device has unlimited capability for transferring money.
Iran’s Oil Ministry, in its defense, stated that an employee was fired due to violations. However, the ministry did not explain how the existence of these card reader devices without the Oil Minister’s knowledge was possible.
A parliamentary representative claimed that Bijan Zanganeh has obstructed further investigations.
In recent months, the Farsi Twitter account of the U.S. State Department has been posting a series of tweets titled “Faces of Corruption in the Iranian Regime,” addressing corrupt officials of the Islamic Republic.
Source: Voice of America
