Corruption in the Shamkhani family
According to Iran Gate, Hussein Shamkhani’s role in major corruption cases has been so prominent that some experts believe it is one of the reasons for Ali Shamkhani’s resignation as the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
The famous son of Ali Shamkhani has left such a strong footprint in these cases that some claim a significant portion of the country’s oil exports during the sanctions era were carried out by him.
In the first part of the corruption case investigation of the Shamkhani family, the important members of this family were introduced. In this section, the role of Hussein Shamkhani, who has been the main actor in economic crimes, has been examined. The second and third parts of this case focus on Hussein’s role and his relationships in the exploitation of sanctions-free space for personal gain.
Admiral unveiled by Hussein Shamkhani
As mentioned in the first part of this case, Hussein Shamkhani is the eldest son of Ali Shamkhani and Azarmidokht Tabatabai. According to information published by Saeed Aghanghi, a journalist and political analyst, and Mehdi Naseri, former editor of Kayhan newspaper and a conservative journalist, Hussein Shamkhani is one of the key players in evading sanctions.
However, other sources have also released information in this regard, but generally it can be said that all sources refer to the Admiral ship file as the key to revealing the role of Hossein Shemkhani in corruption cases. The Metropl Abadan building disaster is another turning point that led to the identification of other members of the Shemkhani family by corruption investigators. However, in this section, the importance of the Admiral company and ship file in the economic corruption of the Shemkhani family is discussed, as it is evaluated as the golden key to solving the mystery of sanctions smuggling by Ali Shemkhani’s son, Aghazadeh.
What is the story of Admiral?
In February 2022, the Indian Coast Guard forces announced the seizure of a container ship named Kabul in the port of Kandla on the western coast of India. Immediately after the release of this news, it became clear that the name of the company owning the seized ship was Admiral, which belongs to Hossein and Hassan Shemkhani, the sons of Ali Shemkhani. This news was also widely covered in domestic media. However, Hossein Shemkhani’s family filed a complaint against ILNA news agency as the publisher of this news. But what was the reality and what happened to Admiral’s fate?
According to the available information, Admiral Company was established in 1390 (Solar Hijri calendar) and has been active in the field of maritime transportation services until last year. Media sources have published evidence of the company’s significant role in circumventing sanctions. However, according to the information on the Marine Traffic Container Cable Company’s website, which belongs to Admiral Company, it has been operating under the flag of the African country, Liberia. Nevertheless, there is evidence indicating the company’s involvement in illegal and unofficial exports of Iranian oil.
Although the Shemkhani family quickly dissolved Admiral Company after the disclosure of this matter, an incident that should not have happened occurred and a golden key was handed over to the media to shed light on the Shemkhani family’s role in economic corruption cases.
Iranian journalist Yashar Soltani also tweeted about this issue, accusing Ali Shamkhani and his children of exploiting the US sanctions after the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA. He also questioned Ali Shamkhani on his Twitter account and inquired about the number of oil tankers owned by Hussein Shamkhani.
However, the information obtained by IranGate indicates the dissolution of the Admiral company by Hussein Shamkhani, the CEO of the company. This action was taken to neutralize the legal claim of the Indian court, which considered the container documents and the ship’s crew contradictory.
From Admiral to Mansouron
As mentioned, the seizure of the ship belonging to the Admiral company was crucial in revealing the role of the Shamkhani family in circumventing oil sanctions. However, gradually, some journalists unveiled Hussein Shamkhani’s connections with mafia rings in the country’s oil and petrochemical industry. The most significant connection is his cooperation with Ehsan Taheri.
Ehsan Taheri is the son of Brigadier General Ali Taheri, one of the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. There are also documents of the cooperation and friendship between Shamsali Taheri and Ali Shamkhani before the revolution. For example, Shamsali Taheri was a member of the Saff group, which collaborated with the Mansouron group. It is worth mentioning that Ali Shamkhani was also one of the key members of the Mansouron group before the 1979 revolution.
The Birth of a Sultan
After the revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic system, Shamsali Taheri and Ali Shamkhani join the Revolutionary Guards. However, later on, Commander Taheri establishes the Taheri Exchange and participates in it, which has played a very important role in currency exchanges related to the export of petrochemical products by companies. Later, this exchange changes its name to the Iranian Currency Exchange and becomes known by this name.
This role became much more prominent in the years 2013 to 2022, as the sanctions imposed on Iran’s oil industry led the Islamic Republic to seek ways to bypass the sanctions, making the exchanges that were trusted by the government even more prominent than before.
This situation led Taheri Exchange, commanded by Sardar Ali Taheri, to become one of the industry leaders in the country’s petrochemical sector. In other words, the oil sanctions turned an exchange owned by a Revolutionary Guards commander into the main channel for the country’s oil exports. This event provided the grounds for abuse in this opaque space and added another corrupt ruler to the dozens of corrupt rulers in Iran’s rent-seeking economy.
The golden couple, Hussein and Ehsan.
As Hossein Shemkhani is the most important figure in the Shemkhani family when it comes to circumventing sanctions, Ehsan Taheri, the son of Sardar Ali Taheri, also plays a central role in transferring currency obtained from illegal and unofficial exports of petrochemical products to the country. According to information published by Iranian journalist Saeed Aganji and considering Ali Shemkhani’s friendship with Ehsan’s father, it is evident that Hossein Shemkhani and Ehsan have formed a powerful alliance in evading oil sanctions.
In fact, Hossein was responsible for selling oil to unofficial Iranian customers, and Ehsan, with the help of his father’s currency channels, has been working on transferring currency to the country. However, the passing of Sardar Taheri in April 2020 and Ali Shemkhani’s sensitive job position as the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the country have not been ineffective in strengthening the relationship between Hossein Shemkhani and Ehsan Taheri.
Ehsan and the money laundering story
In February 2023, Saeed Aganji tweeted about the release of Ehsan Tehriri on a bail of 2,500 billion tomans in several corruption cases related to the oil and petrochemical industry. In his tweet, he revealed Ehsan’s trips to Dubai for money laundering purposes with the support of the intelligence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Some sources also report Ali Shamkhani, the former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, being involved in freeing Ehsan from prison.
In February 2023, Iran Gate news website exposed Ehsan Tehriri’s active role in the Maroun, Pasargad, Arvand, and PCCI oil cases. The report mentions Ehsan Tehriri and Iranian currency exchange offices as key players in the oil and financial transactions of the Quds Force.
In the third part of the present case, other links to corruption in the field of unofficial oil exports and their connections to Hossein Shamkhani and subsequently the Shamkhani family will be revealed.
The special case of Shamkhani has been examined and written exclusively by Iran Gate. You can read other sections of this article from the following links.
- فسادهای خاندان شمخانی تحت حمایت شورای عالی امنیت ملی / قسمت دوم (در حال مطالعه این قسمت هستید)
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