Shahram Jazayeri-Arab
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Shahram Jazayeri-Arab is an Iranian criminal, political activist and businessman involved in a high-profile corruption case. He was also involved in fabricating official documents.
Jazayeri was taken into custody in 2001, at the age of 29, for a long-list of criminal activities involving bribery, illegal exports, forgery and massive embezzlement of state money and assets.[1] The cases of Shahram Jazayeri raised questions about the Iranian government's desire to deal seriously with corruption. Jazayeri was convicted in 2002 in a major corruption case involving 50 defendants, many of them sons of prominent clerics. In September 2004, his 27-year prison sentence was partially overturned, and he is occasionally released from prison on leave.[2]
Jazayeri-Arab paid huge amounts of money to the former reformist held parliament members to influence their decisions. He has confessed to have paid about $600,000 to Hadi Khamenei, the Iran Supreme leader’s reformist brother, and about $400,000 to Mehdi Karroubi, former Majlis speaker.[3] Reportedly, he was arrested after he sent a large check to Iran Supreme leader’s office. Jazayeri-Arab's asset, according to him, is more than 180 million dollars.
In 21 February 2007, Iran's Special Judicial Complex for economic affairs declared that Shahram Jazayeri-Arab has escaped, while being transfered to a court-assigned financial expert comittee.[4] Hossein Shariatmadari of Kayhan newspaper has written an article supporting the theory that those clerics were trying to cover-up the case.[5] Following the escape controversy, the head of Judiciary, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, fired a number of those responsible in the case, including the head of Evin prison and a few judges, and ordered an opening of a case in the military court for the judges.[6] On March 19th, 2007 Iran's head of intelligence agency confirmed that Shaharam Jazayeri-Arab was arrested in Dubai after escaping from prison back in February.
Contrary to ordinary prisoners in Iran, Jazayeri-Arab had access to laptop and two mobile phones in prison and continued his business works overseas.[7]
In February 2007, Jazayeri-Arab was sentenced to 61,861,200 US dollars and 14 years of prison. [8]
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ <ref>[http://www.iraneconomist.com/Fa/ShowNewsFaV3.aspx?EntryID=150927]</li> <li id="_note-2">'''[[#_ref-2|^]]''' [http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0702219579165308.htm]</li> <li id="_note-3">'''[[#_ref-3|^]]''' http://www.iraneconomist.com/fa/ShowNewsFaV3.aspx?EntryID=159692</li> <li id="_note-4">'''[[#_ref-4|^]]''' http://baztab.info/news/62011.php</li> <li id="_note-5">'''[[#_ref-5|^]]''' [http://www.noandish.com/com.php?id=7461]</li> <li id="_note-6">'''[[#_ref-6|^]]''' [http://www.hayat.ir/?lang=fa&page=showbody_news&row_id=34317]</li></ol></ref>
