Hundreds of millions of euros of corruption by the Firoozabadi family in telecommunications
Hundreds of millions of euros of corruption by the Firoozabadi family in telecommunications
An 18 million euro contract was signed, money was paid, but there is no news of the goods. The company Parto Abi Ebtekar Novin, backed by Hassan Firoozabadi and Vahid Sadooghi, received an advance payment from Hamrah Aval without providing a valid guarantee. Hamrah Aval paid 231 billion tomans to this company, but in documents now revealed, this amount is stated as 500 billion tomans. This means the contract was drafted non-transparently, and billions of tomans of public money have an uncertain fate.
Hassan Firoozabadi, son of Abolhassan Firoozabadi, former head of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, and Vahid Sadooghi, former CEO of Hamrah Aval, have managed to channel Hamrah Aval’s financial resources to their own companies through a network of intertwined companies like Parto Abi Akam and Parto Abi Ebtekar Novin. This contract was not disclosed to the legal auditor, the stock exchange, or regulatory bodies, even though by law, any contract of this size should have been announced to shareholders. This indicates the squandering of public assets, financial misconduct, and abuse of position.
Payment of 18 million euros without a valid guarantee, use of shell companies for concealment, non-registration of Parto Abi in the official partners list of Hamrah Aval before 2021, and non-disclosure of financial information in Hamrah Aval and stock exchange reports are among the main violations in this case. The intertwined and shell companies have been an excuse to hide the key roles of Vahid Sadooghi and Hassan Firoozabadi. These two have collaborated on multiple financial projects together but have always tried to keep their names from being directly visible in the documents.
This is one of the largest corruption cases of Hamrah Aval, carried out by officials and children of officials of the Islamic Republic. The influence and power of Abolhassan Firoozabadi, Hassan Firoozabadi’s father, have led these cases to remain silent with no legal pursuit taking place. Meanwhile, hundreds of human resources involved in these projects have been left unemployed without receiving their salaries, and billions of tomans of public investment have met an uncertain fate.
Part related to the violations of RighTel and Hamrah Aval from the investigation report of Shasta
RighTel operator had previously turned into a private backyard for the government and power circles. The influence of a specific network in this operator and misuse of financial resources caused a severe financial and managerial crisis in this company. Among the issues identified in the investigations was the entry of security entities into RighTel’s management structure, which indirectly prevented the transparent operation of this company.
Documents also show that unnecessary contracts, including the purchase of telecommunications equipment from Huawei worth 27,993,909 euros in 2013, were made, with many of these pieces of equipment remaining unused. Years later, only 25% of this equipment has been utilized, and the rest has practically remained unused.
Parts of Shasta’s investigation refer to widespread violations in Hamrah Aval. One of the largest corruption cases in this operator is the 18 million euro contract of Hamrah Aval with a subsidiary of the Parto Abi holding. In this contract, large sums were paid to Parto Abi Ebtekar Novin, but valid guarantees were not obtained, and equipment was not delivered.
Investigations show that this contract was carried out with the knowledge and influence of Vahid Sadooghi, former CEO of Hamrah Aval, and Hassan Firoozabadi, son of Abolhassan Firoozabadi, former head of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace. These two have directed Hamrah Aval’s financial resources towards their own affiliated companies through a network of intertwined companies without providing transparent reports to the stock exchange, shareholders, and regulatory bodies.
Information related to Hassan Firoozabadi in Shasta’s investigation report
According to investigation documents, Hassan Firoozabadi, son of Abolhassan Firoozabadi, has played a key role in some financial misconduct and economic corruption related to Shasta and telecommunications companies.
One of the most important cases is the 18 million euro contract of Hamrah Aval with a subsidiary of the Parto Abi holding, where large sums were paid, but valid guarantees were not obtained, and equipment was not delivered. This contract was signed with the influence of Vahid Sadooghi and Hassan Firoozabadi, and investigations show that these two have directed Hamrah Aval’s financial resources towards their own affiliated companies through intertwined companies without providing transparent reports to the stock exchange, shareholders, and regulatory bodies.
Also, in the RighTel section, Hassan Firoozabadi’s name is mentioned as one of the individuals who have financially misused the management of this operator. Reports show that RighTel Communications Service Company has signed unnecessary and profitable contracts with specific companies. Among these contracts is the purchase of telecommunications equipment from Huawei worth 27,993,909 euros in 2013, where a major part of this equipment has remained unused. Only 25% of this equipment has been used in projects, and the rest has practically been left without utilization.
These violations indicate the key role of Hassan Firoozabadi in the financial corruption of Iran’s telecommunications industry. With the support of his father, Abolhassan Firoozabadi, former head of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, these cases have so far avoided serious judicial proceedings, and regulatory bodies have not taken effective action to pursue these violations.
This information indicates a network of financial corruption and misuse of banking and contractual resources carried out with the influence of associates of Islamic Republic officials. It seems intermediary companies like Atlas and Parto Abi have signed multi-million euro contracts with Hamrah Aval and other entities in coordination with some key individuals, and then, by capital flight and non-fulfillment of obligations, have left banks with thousands of billions of tomans in debt.
Key Points
- Total contract amount: 104 million euros
- Total project cost: 94 million euros, 10 million euros in profit distributed among individuals
- Involvement of Mansour Vaezi and his son with a background in the restaurant industry
- Involvement of Firoozabadi’s children in signing contracts with Hamrah Aval, Irancell, and Iran’s telecommunications
- Firoozabadi’s bank debts to various banks totaling 1,646 trillion tomans
- Amounts of bank guarantees issued through bounced checks and promissory notes, now returned, distribution of guarantee amounts
- First contract: 2000 servers, total: 1,066 billion tomans
- 200 billion tomans, Pasargad Bank
- 232 billion tomans, Post Bank
- 335 billion tomans, Karafarin Bank
- 300 billion tomans, Karafarin Bank
- Second contract: purchase of Nokia equipment, total: 504 billion tomans
- 117 billion tomans, Post Bank
- 144 billion tomans, Ayandeh Bank
- 242 billion tomans, Bank Mellat. Structural corruption: These documents show how some associates of officials use their connections on company boards to structure contracts in a way that allows them to gain large profits without real investment, leaving the damages on the banking system and the public.