Manager of Auto Parts Company Accused of “8,700 Billion Tomans in Smuggling”

The Tehran prosecutor’s representative says Abbas Iravani, manager of the “Azam Auto Parts Group,” has committed “disruption of the country’s economic system,” “forming an auto parts smuggling ring,” and bribing customs officials constituting “corruption on earth.”

Under Article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code, the punishment for “corruption on earth” can be a death sentence.

The first hearing on Iravani’s charges was held on Wednesday, October 10. Six other defendants also appeared in the court session, two of whom were managers of Iravani’s companies and four were customs employees.

According to the prosecutor’s representative, these six individuals formed a large auto parts smuggling network under Iravani’s supervision.

The prosecutor’s representative stated that Abbas Iravani, with the help of his network, carried out “organized and professional smuggling of auto parts” worth 764 million dollars. At the exchange rate of 11,400 tomans per dollar, the charges against Iravani amount to over 8,700 billion tomans.

The prosecutor’s representative presented Abbas Iravani in today’s court session as “one of the most influential economic activists” and said “his bank debts exceed 3,000 billion tomans.”

He also accused Abbas Iravani of embezzling 4,000 billion tomans from the public treasury over the past 10 years and paying more than 400 million tomans in bribes.

According to the prosecutor’s representative, Iravani paid a bribe to Mahmoud Khavari, the former CEO of Bank Melli. Khavari, who was accused in a case involving 3,000 billion tomans in corruption, has gone to Canada.

The “Azam Auto Parts Group,” which was established in 1997, is considered one of the most important auto parts manufacturers in Iran. The group has 12 major subsidiary manufacturing companies, primarily based in Tehran, East Azerbaijan, Gilan, Alborz, and Isfahan provinces, and produce a significant portion of auto parts for Iran Khodro and Saipa.

The prosecutor’s representative stated in court that the annual profit of these companies in auto parts manufacturing was 400 billion tomans.

Iravani’s Non-Economic Activities

Beyond the extensive scope of these companies’ operations, Abbas Iravani’s personality and activities have received considerable media attention in recent years.

The publication of images of Abbas Iravani at the inauguration of projects and economic programs and in private meetings alongside numerous figures in Iranian politics such as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Shariatmadari, Hussein Dehghan, Ali Jannati, Sadegh Kharazi, Mahmoud Vaezi, Mahmoud Alavi, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, and Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh, indicated his close and continuous relations with government officials.

Abbas Iravani was also the director of two institutions, “Hazrat Fatima” and “Asr-e Noor Charitable Foundation,” as well as the “Tavassul to Imam Reza” institution, and was very active in religious and charitable ceremonies. Ali Jannati, the former Minister of Culture, and Zahra Sadat Moushir, the wife of Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, were among the figures who had memberships in Abbas Iravani’s charitable and religious institutions.

He was also active in the field of manuscripts and artistic works. Iravani wrote on his personal website that he has restored and printed in Germany “very valuable handwritten Qurans,” and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has seen these Qurans.

Media also published an image of him and Sadegh Kharazi, who works in the field of manuscripts and antiques, showing two copies of the Quran to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Iravani also wrote that, on the recommendation of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, he carried out projects in the reconstruction of religious centers in Iraq and sends livelihood and food assistance to 18,000 orphaned children in Iraq.

In recent years, he sought to develop a large theme park project called “One Thousand and One Cities,” which was supposed to be the largest amusement park in the Middle East and, according to him, “a Disneyland adapted to Iranian-Islamic culture.”

The complex started in 2006 with the participation of Tehran Municipality, but was left incomplete due to issues that the Islamic Republic’s military had regarding land ownership.

Source: Radio Farda