Leader of Islamic Revolution Endorses Effort:
Judiciary Toughens Fight Against Financial Crimes
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran's judiciary said Sunday that 67 people have been arrested in recent weeks as part of anti-corruption effort which Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei endorsed on Saturday.
More than 100 government employees have also been barred from leaving the country, spokesman Gholamhussein Mohseni Ejeie said, according to the Mizan news agency.
"Our enemy America has decided to put pressure on people and it intends to put our economy under pressure, but to no avail," Ejeie said.
"There are individuals who try to use this opportunity and hoard basic goods and increase pressure on people by hoarding and smuggling," he added.
On Saturday, Ayatollah Khamenei approved a request from the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, to set up special courts to try people for economic crimes.
"The goal is that the punishment of convicts of economic corruption be carried out urgently and justly," Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in a response to a request by the judiciary chief.
A government attempt to fix the falling value of the rial in April fell flat after it was revealed that importers were hoarding the cheap dollars or selling them on the black market.
Earlier this month, the head of the central bank was sacked and his deputy in charge of foreign exchange arrested amid pressure mounting from all sides on the government to take more concerted action against corruption.
In his letter to the judiciary chief on Saturday, Ayatollah Khamenei urged the judiciary to advise the courts to ensure the accuracy of their rulings.
Ayatollah Amoli Larijani had proposed that new tribunals be set up for two years and directed to hand down maximum sentences to those "disrupting and corrupting the economy."
"Given the current special economic conditions that are considered a kind of economic war and, unfortunately, some of those disrupting and corrupting the economy also provide for the enemy's goals and commit crimes that require urgent and rapid action, if you see fit, please allow the head of the judiciary to act within the framework of the penal code ... on those disrupting the economic system,” he said in his letter to the Leader.
The letter requested that the trials be held in open court, but that any suspension or mitigation in the sentences of the convicts be prohibited.
It also demanded that all court rulings barring the death penalty be final, with death sentences subject to appeal at the Supreme Court within a maximum 10 days.
The development comes in the wake of record devaluation of the rial which has lost nearly two-thirds of its value since the start of the year.
According to Tehran police chief General Hussein Rahimi, a man and his accomplices have been arrested for collecting two tonnes of gold coins over several months in order to manipulate the market.
Officials have attributed the currency market volatility to the enemies, saying they are out to destroy the country’s assets and instill disappointment among the public.
The situation arose after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May and announced the most restrictive sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The sanctions target Iran's purchase of U.S. dollars, its trade in gold and other precious metals as well as its automotive and aviation sectors.
Iranian officials have said U.S. measures are tantamount to an "economic war”.
More than 100 government employees have also been barred from leaving the country, spokesman Gholamhussein Mohseni Ejeie said, according to the Mizan news agency.
"Our enemy America has decided to put pressure on people and it intends to put our economy under pressure, but to no avail," Ejeie said.
"There are individuals who try to use this opportunity and hoard basic goods and increase pressure on people by hoarding and smuggling," he added.
On Saturday, Ayatollah Khamenei approved a request from the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, to set up special courts to try people for economic crimes.
"The goal is that the punishment of convicts of economic corruption be carried out urgently and justly," Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in a response to a request by the judiciary chief.
A government attempt to fix the falling value of the rial in April fell flat after it was revealed that importers were hoarding the cheap dollars or selling them on the black market.
Earlier this month, the head of the central bank was sacked and his deputy in charge of foreign exchange arrested amid pressure mounting from all sides on the government to take more concerted action against corruption.
In his letter to the judiciary chief on Saturday, Ayatollah Khamenei urged the judiciary to advise the courts to ensure the accuracy of their rulings.
Ayatollah Amoli Larijani had proposed that new tribunals be set up for two years and directed to hand down maximum sentences to those "disrupting and corrupting the economy."
"Given the current special economic conditions that are considered a kind of economic war and, unfortunately, some of those disrupting and corrupting the economy also provide for the enemy's goals and commit crimes that require urgent and rapid action, if you see fit, please allow the head of the judiciary to act within the framework of the penal code ... on those disrupting the economic system,” he said in his letter to the Leader.
The letter requested that the trials be held in open court, but that any suspension or mitigation in the sentences of the convicts be prohibited.
It also demanded that all court rulings barring the death penalty be final, with death sentences subject to appeal at the Supreme Court within a maximum 10 days.
The development comes in the wake of record devaluation of the rial which has lost nearly two-thirds of its value since the start of the year.
According to Tehran police chief General Hussein Rahimi, a man and his accomplices have been arrested for collecting two tonnes of gold coins over several months in order to manipulate the market.
Officials have attributed the currency market volatility to the enemies, saying they are out to destroy the country’s assets and instill disappointment among the public.
The situation arose after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May and announced the most restrictive sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The sanctions target Iran's purchase of U.S. dollars, its trade in gold and other precious metals as well as its automotive and aviation sectors.
Iranian officials have said U.S. measures are tantamount to an "economic war”.