Jamshid Asadi: Deceiving People to Invest in Stock Market is a ‘Major Crime’ in Commercial Law

As a new round of protests by stock market losers continues in the capital and other Iranian cities, economist Dr. Jamshid Asadi says that Hassan Rouhani’s government deceived people into participating in the stock market.

Based on videos published on social networks, thousands of investors in Iran’s stock market, who are now considered financially ruined Iranians, have held demonstrations in various Iranian cities over recent months and days, chanting slogans including “The government betrays, the leader supports,” “Islam was made a ladder, people were humiliated,” and “We’ve heard enough lies, we won’t vote anymore.”

Dr. Jamshid Asadi, an economist, told Voice of America that it is not surprising that investors in the stock market suffer losses: “An investor anywhere in the world may suffer losses in or outside the stock market… but in the Islamic Republic and under Mr. Rouhani’s government, people were deceived. They created a bubble by listing companies on the stock exchange and gave people the illusion that profits were growing.”

This professor of economic strategy, who believes this bubble was artificially created by the government to compensate for budget deficits, further stated: “From a commercial law perspective worldwide, this is a major crime. But the Islamic Republic did this and people lost their money, so the government could collect this liquidity to cover its budget deficit.”

According to available information, stock market losers in Iran who, following recommendations and encouragements last year from senior Islamic Republic officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Rouhani, invested in the market, lost their assets and capital after market indices collapsed.

This Iranian economist, further noting the lack of money in the government, said that if some sanctions are lifted, the government has a thousand and one expenses, and compensation for stock market losers may be among the government’s lowest priorities.

Mr. Asadi, calling improvement of Iran’s economic situation with current Islamic Republic policies “impossible,” told Voice of America: “Even if Nobel Prize winners come and become ministers, the situation will more or less remain the same; the same spread of poverty and the same losers. Do you remember that before stock market losers, we had losers from interest-free loan funds.”

While protests by stock market losers continue in Iran, in recent days Ahmad Alireza Bigdeli, representative of Tabriz and member of the parliamentary interior committee, on Tuesday, April 20, addressed the minister of economic affairs and finance in parliament, referring to “the financial losses of 50 million Iranians in the stock market,” saying: “The Iranian people no longer trust you.”

Voice of America previously reported that as a new round of professional protests continued due to livelihood problems in Iran, stock market losers as well as social security retirees held demonstrations in the capital and other cities, chanting slogans emphasizing non-participation in the upcoming presidential election.

Opponents and critics of the Islamic Republic system say that in the absence of a free referendum, the level of non-participation in elections by the people will be a relative measure of the Islamic Republic’s position in Iranian society.

Source: Voice of America