The Islamic revolutionary court, which was established in August to deal with economic cases, sentenced three Iranian citizens to death. The main accusatory article – “distribution of corruption on the Earth”.
In addition to the three “suicide”, the court issued more lenient decisions against 32 people. They were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, the maximum of which is 20 years. Death sentences can still be appealed to the Supreme court of Iran, Bloomberg reports.
Among those condemned to death is an Iranian gold merchant known as the “Sultan of coins” Wahid Mazloumi. Mohammad Esmail Kassemi and Hamid bageri-Dermani were also sentenced to death. Sentences still need to be ratified, and defendants can appeal, court spokesman Golamhossein Mohseni-Ej said.
Mazloumi has been trading gold and foreign exchange at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran for 30 years. On 2 July, he was arrested for buying a large batch of Bahar-e-Azadi gold coins, which he resold at higher rates. These coins are investment gold coins issued in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Bahar-e-Azadi coins weigh about 8.13 grams and are the main investment in Iran. Because the value of the Iranian Rial is jammed. Because of U.S. sanctions, the Iranian real has reached very low values while the value of gold coins is more than four times the value of the real.
Mazloumi was arrested at least twice before 2012, when he was detained for illegally wanting to leave Iran from the Western city of Marivan. According to the investigation, Mazlomi also had “close ties with a senior Manager at the Central Bank of Iran,” whom the police do not name, but he was also arrested.
Earlier this month, former official of the Central Bank of Iran Valille the Safe, which threatens the investigation of abuses in the currency market, it was forbidden to leave the country. Safe led the Central Bank for five years, but faced criticism for not being able to stop the fall of the Rial. In July he was replaced by Abdolnaser, Hemmati.
We remind that special courts were created in Iran within the framework of the government’s campaign against corruption. This decision is due to the deterioration of the economic situation in Iran, associated with the us withdrawal from the nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers. Currently, the dollar is sold for 160 thousand riyals in unlicensed markets, while in February 1 dollar could be bought for 50 thousand in February. At the same time, currency and gold coin trading increased.
