Judiciary Hack Unveils Money Laundering and Corruption Allegations Against ‘Mehdi Taj’s Son Ali Taj’
Documents exposed following the judiciary hack reveal allegations of money laundering and corruption against Ali Taj, the son of “Mehdi Taj”.
Following the judiciary hack by the “Adalet-e Ali” hacking group, documents have emerged showing that “Ali Taj,” born June 19, 1986, has faced legal proceedings and complaints since his early twenties due to financial corruption allegations stemming from his economic cooperation with his father Mehdi Taj.
In September 2018, “Khabar Online,” citing the Sports World publication, published a report about the children of sports officials who have emigrated from Iran or engaged in major commercial activities within the country. In the published report, “Ehsan Kafashian,” son of the former football federation president Ali, “Ali Saltanifar,” son of Masoud, the then sports minister, “Mojtaba Davarzani,” son of Mohammad Reza, the former volleyball federation president, “Mohammad Hossein Saket,” son of Mohammad Reza, the then CEO of Sepahan, and “Mohsen Aliabadi,” son of Mohammad, the former head of the physical education organization, were highlighted as the most prominent elite offspring.
Now we encounter “Ali Taj,” son of “Mehdi Taj,” who has always remained in the shadows, managing significant portions of his father’s activities. He has even become so similar to his father in speaking style that one cannot distinguish him from his father over the phone.
In August 2020, when Mehdi Taj’s financial and economic corruption was gradually being exposed, he stated in an interview: “My son Ali has the slightest connection to football, oil, and steel.” This claim came despite Ali having behind-the-scenes influence that led to the appointment of “Ibrahim Shokouri” to the football federation and his role in selecting “Hamid Estili” as the coach of the national youth team.
According to documents released by the “Adalet-e Ali” hacking group from the judiciary, the High Council for Money Laundering Combat filed a complaint against “Aazam Khalili,” wife of “Mehdi Taj,” on September 16, 2012, at the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of District 32 (Economic Crimes) in Tehran. The name of Aazam Khalili was revealed six years later in November 2018 by “Yashar Sultani.” Aazam Khalili’s name appeared in documents related to illegal land transactions by Mehdi Taj, the current football federation president.
Yashar Sultani had claimed that Aazam Khalili and Ali Taj played a role in money laundering for Mehdi Taj’s benefit, and the High Council for Money Laundering Combat had filed a complaint against Aazam Khalili on the same charges. Aazam Khalili’s case was closed in June 2013 under “issuance of other decisions at appropriate times,” and on June 26 of the same year, the High Council for Money Laundering Combat filed another complaint against Aazam Khalili and Ali Taj, when he was only 27 years old, on money laundering charges at the public prosecutor’s office.
Branch 6 of the Investigation Department of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of District 32 closed the aforementioned case in June 2014 as “issuance of other decisions at appropriate times.”
The case was closed and the complaint proceedings remained behind the scenes until February 2020, when, while the money laundering case of Aazam Khalili and Ali Taj had not been reviewed, Mehdi Taj, his wife, and his son, alongside security agencies and government organizations including the “Sepah Pasdarans Cultural Information Organization” and the “Radio and Television Organization,” filed a complaint against Yashar Sultani for spreading false news, and three months later, Branch 1057 of the Criminal Court of the Government Employees Judicial Complex in Tehran convicted Yashar Sultani of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic system” and “threatening and disclosing people’s secrets.”
Among the documents exposed by the “Adalet-e Ali” hacking group, there is a particularly noteworthy document containing complaints collectively registered in shared cases involving all members of the Taj family due to their economic activities. The complainants in the relevant case include the “Head of the Prosecutor’s Office of District 28 Government Employees in Tehran,” the “Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran,” and the “Office of the General Inspection of the Country,” who on February 24, 2023, filed complaints against Mehdi Taj, Ali Taj, and Aazam Khalili for “obtaining money through illicit means,” “issuing false reports,” “fraud,” “issuing false reports,” “embezzlement of public and state funds,” and “forgery of official documents,” and immediately 11 days later, the case was closed in favor of the Taj family.
In another case, the names of Mehdi Taj and his son Ali were registered as defendants in allegations of fraud, embezzlement, disruption of the country’s monetary or exchange system, and interference with state assets in the industrial companies “Caspian Steel Ghadir” and “Global Caspian Steel,” contrary to Mehdi Taj’s previous claims that his son Ali had no role in steel and football. Contrary to Mehdi Taj’s claims, his son Ali was involved in both steel and football. He even submitted his thesis in 2020, exactly one year after his father’s temporary resignation from the football federation presidency and when his influence in the football federation was still intact, regarding “the relationships of managers and employees in the football federation of the Islamic Republic,” in collaboration with “Mohammad Reza Esmaili” and “Jasem Manouchehri.”
Other complaints against Ali Taj have been filed, among which more than 7 complaints are based on economic corruption. The hacked judiciary documents show that Ali Taj began money laundering and misappropriation of state funds since his early twenties.
Embezzlers and economic corrupt officials like Ali Taj, who always remain in the shadows, never think that one day all their corruption, embezzlement, and theft will be exposed.
