Tehran Municipality: Fertile Ground for Iran’s Rulers

According to FCN report: Mohammad Ali Najafi, Tehran’s mayor, in a report on the status of Iran’s capital municipality, accused the former mayor and managers of this institution of matters such as “spending the municipality budget on presidential elections”, “sudden hiring of 13,000 people on the eve of elections”, “betrayal of the municipality employee reserve fund” and “arbitrary transfer of 674 properties”.

However, Mr. Qalibaf has rejected all reports related to corruption in the municipality and stated that there was not even a single case of “organized violations” in this institution.

But it must be known that the volume of documents revealed today is not only directed at Qalibaf, but has been exposed regarding the entire Iranian system. And this corruption was not merely ordinary corruption, and it is perfectly clear that the large city of Tehran with vast lands and a staggering population and the control center of the entire country is a very suitable place for implementing the personal goals and plans of the rulers. In this regard, the Tehran Municipality, which is the center of all economic activities in this city, can easily issue permission for any action or operation and plays a significant role in this regard.

This corruption has gripped Tehran and other major cities for years, and to make it appear legal as well as to conceal the amount of revenues and to facilitate easy access to illegitimate financial resources, they proceeded to establish Bank Shahr (City Bank).

One of the best ways to plunder the people is to establish banks affiliated with each institution. With this approach, no one is accountable to anyone, and the central bank, while taking advantage of these banks, does not accept responsibility for their performance.

In the early months of 1390 (2011-2012), that is approximately 6 years ago, almost all Iranian municipalities engaged in a dirty business whose consequences will soon become apparent. In this regard and according to the coordination of major cities and the board of directors of the central City Bank, it was decided that municipalities would compensate for their lack of financial resources by taking loans from City Bank through a clever municipality trick.

But where is the flaw and clever trick in this work? We all know that the municipality, in order to implement its urban development projects and in line with improving, modernizing and developing urban streets, needs to acquire properties and lands along the route. And in the course of acquiring these properties, their documents are also formally transferred in the name of the municipality.

Therefore, municipalities, in pursuit of their plundering policies to go through the systematic cycle and banking documentation and receive loans, placed the documents of these properties and lands along the route in mortgage to City Bank and received loans with large amounts. Given that these lands and properties no longer exist as specified property and are all either along street and highway routes or in the form of parks and parking lots, etc., therefore according to the agreement between the municipality and formal document transfer, it no longer has any other possible use. Because after acquisition, possession and demolition of the property and implementation of the project on these properties by the municipality, the document is inconsistent with the current situation and the property has, so to speak, been transformed for the better.

Finally, it must be understood that corruption of this magnitude is only possible with the cooperation and coordination of the entire governmental and banking system. And these exposures by the current Tehran mayor are very minor and insignificant compared to the main corruptions of the municipalities system. And certainly, like other exposures, it will be fruitless and ineffective.

Following up on this matter, like other exposures, will ultimately end well in the country’s General Inspection Organization, and the harsh consequences of this situation will be felt in the near future by the retirees of all municipalities in the country.