Another corner of widespread government corruption in Iran revealed; $27 billion in exported foreign currency has not returned
At the same time as the exchange rate in Iran has increased sharply and the country is waiting for the return of foreign exchange earned from exports of goods, the Trade Development Organization of Iran says that billions of euros in export currency have not returned to the country.
According to media reports in Iran, the Trade Development Organization of Iran, based on statistics and information from the Central Bank regarding the settlement of exporters' foreign exchange obligations as of October 27, says that about 16 billion euros of the export obligations of merchants in 2018 and 2019 have not been paid yet, and emphasizes that this debt includes obligations of the government sector.
On the other hand, less than a month ago, the Iranian Chamber of Commerce said that $10.5 billion of the export currency that has not returned to Iran belongs to state-owned companies.
The United States has also repeatedly condemned institutionalized financial corruption and the plundering of Iran's God-given assets by the regime's affiliates, citing them as the main causes of Iran's economic and financial problems. Not long ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about the Islamic Republic's officials that they were involved in corruption instead of helping the people.
Thus, if the announced statistics are correct, the amount of foreign exchange not returned to Iran is close to $27 billion, and the public sector – and consequently the government – is responsible for at least $10 billion of foreign exchange not returned to the country. It also seems that the number of companies and businessmen who have not returned foreign exchange to the country is far higher than the statistics announced by this organization.
A member of the Parliament's Industries Commission also said that out of a total of 3,500 companies that have not returned their export currencies, 75 "large-scale" companies, mainly state-owned and semi-state, have taken over more than 5 billion euros of foreign exchange and have not yet returned it. In other words, state-owned and semi-state exporters have not returned the foreign exchange earned from their exports despite receiving 4,200 tomans per dollar.
Due to the increase in the exchange rate in Iran and each US dollar reaching about 30,000 Tomans, sensitivities have increased regarding the return of foreign exchange from exports and its entry into the market.
This widespread corruption in the fields of exports, the foreign exchange market, and government-affiliated institutions comes at a time when citizens have endured severe inflation and heavy economic pressure in recent years, and have repeatedly staged widespread protests to protest incompetence and economic problems .
The United States government has repeatedly stated that instead of helping the people's economic situation, the Islamic Republic's authorities are seeking to steal from the country and aid their proxy groups in the Middle East.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, said : "The Iranian people have spoken out clearly. They have rejected forty years of corruption and abuse and have called for an end to the dictatorship and an end to the preference for foreign actors over the interests of the Iranian people."
Source: Voice of America
