Who Is Sitting Around the Steel Table? The Steel Gate 3 Corruption Case
One of the key aspects of the Steel Gate incident is the payments made by Mobarakeh Steel to individuals and governmental and non-governmental entities under the guise of gifts. These gifts have cost Mobarakeh Steel shareholders 180 billion tomans. However, not all of these gifts were in cash; they ranged from apartment units to blood pressure monitors and sweets.
According to Irangate, the 91 trillion toman misconduct in Mobarakeh Steel has vast dimensions, and the parliamentary investigation report can be examined from various angles. One of these aspects is the gifts and donations generously given by Mobarakeh Steel to individuals and entities. The extensive list of Mobarakeh Steel’s gifts includes everything from payments to Friday prayer leaders to a 200 million toman party organized by the Isfahan governorate.
Non-compliance with payment limits by the CEO
During the period covered by this report, from the beginning of 2018 to July 2021, Mobarakeh Steel spent around 180 billion tomans on gifts.
An important point regarding these gifts and donations is that they were paid from the petty cash under the CEO’s control. However, according to the resolution of Mobarakeh Steel’s board of directors, the CEO could only pay 300 million tomans for these gifts in 2020 without informing the shareholders. Therefore, these payments contradict the company’s guidelines and resolutions.
It seems that the company initially made these payments and then sought approval from the general assembly because in August 2020, the gift payment limit was increased to 50 billion tomans and in March of the same year to 150 billion tomans.
The 200 Million Toman Party by Isfahan Governorate
Most of the payments made by Mobarakeh Steel in Isfahan were either at the request of influential individuals such as members of parliament or at the request of executive bodies. This is while receiving any form of money, goods, or services by executive bodies is against the law and prohibited.
For example, the national broadcaster received sums to support Mobarakeh Steel managers and invite them for interviews, as well as to gain the support of senior provincial managers for Mobarakeh Steel to attract the support of members of parliament. The governorate and the provincial government also received over two billion tomans in cash from Mobarakeh Steel, which is illegal. The report even mentions that the Isfahan governorate received 200 million tomans from Mobarakeh Steel to hold a party. Additionally, the head of security at Mobarakeh Steel also received 275 million tomans in gift cards from the company, with no clear indication of how these cards were used.
Moreover, most of these funds were deposited into personal and non-governmental accounts without oversight. Therefore, there are ambiguities regarding their usage and even potential crimes like money laundering with these funds.
Mobarakeh Steel’s Influence in Elections
In addition to the costs of hosting a party, the Isfahan governorate received over 25 billion tomans from Mobarakeh Steel. About two billion tomans of this amount was for assisting in organizing elections, which was indirectly deposited into the accounts of companies contracted with the governorate. Therefore, the suspicion of Mobarakeh Steel’s interference in the election results is not far-fetched.
The provincial Department of Roads and Urban Development also received one billion tomans from Mobarakeh Steel at the request of a member of parliament from Isfahan.
Police Turned Thieves
According to the parliamentary report, Mobarakeh Steel deposited over 15 billion tomans into the account of the police force at the request of military and law enforcement commanders. The Isfahan Sepah, Basij bases, and the Ministry of Defense also received over 63 billion tomans from Mobarakeh Steel. The judiciary received 300 million tomans from Mobarakeh Steel in less than four years.
Steel and Hyundai Cars Parked at the Intelligence Office
According to this report, Mobarakeh Steel paid more than 2.6 billion tomans to the provincial intelligence office in Isfahan in 2019 and 2020. However, Mobarakeh Steel’s gifts were not limited to cash; the provincial intelligence office also received three Hyundai cars, including one Elantra and two Tucson models. Additionally, this office received about 130 million tomans in shopping vouchers from Hakopian stores as gifts from Mobarakeh Steel.
Friday Prayer Leaders’ Share Was Preserved
Friday prayer leaders were not left out from Mobarakeh Steel’s table and received over 1.4 billion tomans in gifts. Additionally, Mobarakeh Steel, through one of its subsidiaries, Hormozgan Steel, donated 950 million tomans to the Al-Ghadir International Foundation Seminary, the construction of a mosque, and the Friday prayer organizing committee. The Arbaeen Headquarters and the Islamic Student Association also each received 500 million tomans from Mobarakeh Steel.
Donation of Two Apartment Units in Tehran
Mobarakeh Steel provided two apartment units in District 5 of Tehran for free and without rent to the Steel Producers Association. Additionally, Mobarakeh Steel paid over 1.1 billion tomans for converting these units from residential to administrative use.
Mobarakeh Steel’s Dealings with Parliament
One of the items mentioned in the parliamentary report is the 34.6 billion toman payment by Mobarakeh Steel for various construction projects. However, the main point of this issue is the involvement of Zahra Saeedi Mobarakeh, the then-representative of the Mobarakeh district, in determining and allocating this amount. Saeedi’s connection with Mobarakeh Steel and its CEO does not end here, and it seems that her campaign expenses were also covered by Mobarakeh Steel.
45 Billion Tomans for Sweets
During the period covered by this report, Mobarakeh Steel donated 4,675 enamel plates, 1,590 pairs of vases, 571 perfumes, 101 external hard drives, fabric, flash drives, earphones, power banks, and more to influential individuals in governmental and non-governmental entities. The value of these gifts is estimated to be over 5.3 billion tomans.
Additionally, one of the strangest points in this report is the 45 billion toman expenditure from Mobarakeh Steel’s petty cash for buying sweets and gifting them to people outside the company. Moreover, Mobarakeh Steel paid over 15 billion tomans in shopping vouchers to governmental individuals. The donation of 80 blood pressure monitors to inspectors and the Dispute Resolution Council was also one of Mobarakeh Steel’s actions.
Everyone Is Involved
The list of gift card recipients from Mobarakeh Steel is extensive, and we will examine it further.
Payments include 25 million tomans to the General Directorate of Tax Affairs, 154 million tomans to the director-general and customs experts, 89 million tomans to the director-general of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade and its experts, 60 million tomans to the director-general and experts of the Ministry of Agriculture, four million tomans to the director-general and experts of the Natural Resources Department, 63 million tomans to Social Security managers, 10 million tomans to the Police Command of Zarrin Shahr, 15 million tomans to the CEO and deputies of the Regional Electricity Company, five million tomans to the CEO of the Gas Company, 36 million tomans to the Environment Organization, 36 million tomans to the Isfahan Oil Company, and 14 million tomans to the Registration Department.
Additionally, payments include 12 million tomans to the head and secretary of the Production Facilitation and Barrier Removal Headquarters, 18 million tomans to the Audit Organization, 27 million tomans to the Securities and Exchange Organization, 29 million tomans to Iran Insurance, 17 million tomans to the Central Securities Depository, 70 million tomans to the Central Bank, 79 million tomans to the Privatization Organization, 60 million tomans to banking managers, four million tomans to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12 million tomans to Iran Air, 22 million tomans to the University of Medical Sciences, 41 million tomans to the Atomic Energy Organization, 50 million tomans to the director-general of the national broadcaster, and 70 million tomans to the governorates.
Furthermore, Tuka Transport Company, a subsidiary of Mobarakeh Steel, received over 36 billion tomans in gifts, with the beneficiaries unknown.
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