Corruption in the automotive industry; Iran Khodro sales deputy also arrested

Iranian media outlets reported on Wednesday, September 25, the arrest of “Mostafa Khan Karmi,” deputy director of sales at Iran Khodro.

According to reports from several Iranian news agencies, Mostafa Khan Karmi, deputy director of sales at Iran Khodro, was arrested on Tuesday by the State Employees Prosecutor’s Office at his workplace.

Further details about the arrest of this Iran Khodro official have not been released; however, one news agency identified the sales deputy as the “brother of the head of security of the Presidential Office” and reported that “his case is now open at the special prosecutor’s office for investigating crimes committed by state employees.”

The charges against this Iran Khodro manager have not yet been announced, and according to reports, Khan Karmi was dismissed the previous day.

This arrest comes as Hashem Yekehzareh, the former chief executive of Iran Khodro, was arrested hours after his dismissal on August 19 of this year.

The reason for his arrest was cited as the “intentional and uncoordinated” increase in the prices of this company’s products.

The dismissal of Iran Khodro’s CEO comes as the automotive market has been turbulent for months with rising prices. In recent days, the spokesman for the Article 90 Commission of Parliament had also reported the existence of “large-scale corruption” and a “power mafia” in the automotive manufacturing industry.

The United States has repeatedly condemned institutionalized financial corruption and the plundering of Iran’s natural resources by affiliates of the ruling regime in this country, considering them among the main factors of Iran’s economic and financial problems. For instance, recently Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, tweeted about Islamic Republic officials that instead of helping people, they have become involved in corruption.

Source: Voice of America