A billionaire businessman at the heart of a $2.6 billion state bank scam, the largest fraud case since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, has been executed, state television reports.
Authorities put Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, also known as Amir Mansour Aria, to death at Evin prison, just north of the capital, Tehran, the station reported.
The report said the execution came after Iran’s Supreme Court upheld his death sentence.
The fraud involved using forged documents to get credit at one of Iran’s top financial institutions, Bank Saderat, to purchase assets including state-owned companies like major steel producer Khuzestan Steel Co.
Khosravi’s business empire included more than 35 companies from mineral water production to a football club and meat imports from Brazil.
According to Iranian media reports, the bank fraud began in 2007.
A total of 39 defendants were convicted in the case. Four received death sentences, two got life sentences and the rest received sentences of up to 25 years in prison.
The trials raised questions about corruption at senior levels in Iran’s tightly controlled economy during the administration of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mahmoud Reza Khavari, a former head of Bank Melli, another major Iranian bank, escaped to Canada in 2011 after he resigned over the case.
He faces charges over the case in Iran and remains on the Islamic Republic’s wanted list.
Khavari previously admitted that his bank partially was involved in the fraud, but has maintained his innocence.
It may sound barbaric but we need such law and action in Nigeria to stop corruption. When capital punishment is attached to corruption there will be less to handle.
The idea of sacred cow or godfatherism will stop. We need to sanitice this country.
Can dat happen in our country.God bless dat country. Bcos we fail to say d truth dat is y we are where ar now.
@peter What is barbaric in killing of some one that was responsible in impoverished millions of people? Or is it just islam is mentioned that’s what to qualified the execution to be barbaric? My friend that what makes china great today