Corruption Continues in Tehran Municipality

Corruption in Tehran Municipality Continues

Corruption in Tehran Municipality Continues. According to Iran Gate, the news of the arrest of one of the staff members from Alireza Zakani’s office in recent days has led to increasing controversies. This news, revealed by a member of the Tehran City Council, has taken the series of corruption in Tehran Municipality to a new phase. But what is the reason for the arrest of this unidentified individual?

Mehdi Abbasi, a member of the Tehran City Council, recently announced the arrest of a member of the Tehran Mayor’s office on charges of financial corruption. Before starting his pre-agenda speech at the Tehran City Council, he referred to the remarks of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, stating that someone tainted by corruption cannot fight corruption, and then announced the above news. However, this city council member did not reveal the identity of the arrested individual, nor did he clarify this person’s connection with Alireza Zakani. However, many believe that this individual is most likely closely associated with the current mayor of Tehran and is directly in contact with him.

Who is the arrested individual?

Information provided to Iran Gate indicates that the arrested individual is not only close to Zakani but also had no previous experience in this field before Zakani’s management in Tehran Municipality and started working with his current boss for the first time in the municipality. This is not a strange occurrence, as the pattern of selecting managers and even mid-level staff by Zakani shows that he has been making sweeping changes to the Tehran Municipality staff.

The identity of the arrested individual is still not clear to the media, but following the corruption case in the past two years in Tehran Municipality leads one to conclude that the Tehran Mayor was certainly aware of the details and was informed about the corruption of the mentioned individual.

Zakani’s Connection with Corruption Cases in Tehran Municipality

Information provided to Iran Gate indicates serious follow-up by competent authorities regarding the connection of this individual with the Tehran Mayor and his deputies. The frequent publication of corruption news in Tehran Municipality has made the judicial authorities more sensitive to this case. Even Mehdi Abbasi, the head of the Urban Development and Architecture Commission of the Tehran City Council, announced in the same pre-agenda speech the arrest of several other close associates of Zakani and staff from his office throughout 2022.

There are also reports of misuse by direct staff of Alireza Zakani’s office, which are unclear whether they are being pursued by judicial authorities. The scope of these actions is so extensive that it ranges from receiving bribes of 1 to 2 million tomans to intervening in the change of use of major projects that have brought tens of billions of tomans in windfalls to these individuals.

Reports have also reached Iran Gate about non-public sessions in the Tehran City Council, where members have launched severe attacks on the Tehran Mayor. According to these reports, council members have accused Zakani at several points of being aware of the corruption of the staff in the Tehran Mayor’s office.

On the other hand, based on the statements of these same council members, all those arrested and accused of financial misuse joined this organization after Zakani’s appointment as Tehran Mayor. This means Zakani cannot shirk responsibility and claim ignorance of the corruption within the organization he leads.

Zakani’s Forward Escape

Amid the escalating issue of the arrest of one of Alireza Zakani’s close associates on charges of financial corruption, the Human Resources Deputy of Tehran Municipality tried to provide explanations and portray the Tehran Mayor as clean and innocent of these events. However, some city council members reacted to the statements of Abdolmotahhar Mohammadi, the Human Resources Deputy of Tehran Municipality, calling these statements false and claiming that judicial authorities are also aware of the details and that the Tehran Mayor’s awareness of the corruption of his subordinates cannot be denied.

The Dispute Escalates

It is said that in a non-public session of the Tehran City Council on Tuesday, evidence was presented by two council members indicating that Zakani was aware of the financial misuse by his office staff in Tehran Municipality. Although we have not yet received details on this matter, it seems that the disputes have escalated to the point that even the city council, which is overwhelmingly controlled by conservatives and even hardliners who are on the same front with Zakani, may enter serious confrontations with the current Tehran Mayor.

Some also report the presentation of evidence of astronomical salaries being paid to mid-level staff of the Tehran Mayor’s office in the city council session. However, there is currently no evidence to prove this claim, and Iran Gate cannot confirm the authenticity of this news, although if new salary slips or news of other arrests are published in the media in the coming days, it would not be surprising.

It seems that an internal dispute is underway over the distribution of positions, which has even disregarded political arrangements. A dispute has erupted between the hardline members of the Tehran City Council and Alireza Zakani, the super-revolutionary Tehran Mayor, which could even lead to his removal from this important position.