Who is Mohammad Bahmaei? Corruption in the Petrochemical Mafia Part One
Who is Mohammad Bahmaei? According to Iran Gate, he was working as a courier in the moral police of Ahvaz. Through a friendship with the son of Seyfollah Jashnsaz, then CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company, he was hired as a contractor. During the 2009 protests, he deliberately injured his hand, forged documents, claimed veteran status, and with the help of Jashnsaz, he was employed by the National Iranian Oil Company using his father’s veteran percentage.
Bahmaei’s father lived in England for ten years at the expense of the National Iranian Oil Company, under the pretext of treatment. There, he married an Iranian woman with British citizenship. During this time, he engaged in oil trade brokerage using his connections, and Mohammad Bahmaei also traveled to England several times.
In 2012, Mohammad Bahmaei was hired and, with Jashnsaz’s support, collaborated with Reza Khalili, the deputy of the National Iranian Oil Company and a close relative, in non-industrial operations. Since then, he became one of Khalili’s connections. Upon hiring, he was imposed on E. Khademi, CEO of North Drilling Company, and appointed to three positions: head of security, research manager, and commercial manager.
During his time at North Drilling, through contracts for purchasing drilling equipment and technical services at inflated prices, he amassed significant wealth. Leveraging his financial status and abusing his security role, he became a mediator and lobbyist between the parliament and the Ministry of Oil.
Bahmaei brought capable contractors like Karimi and Rahdari from the National Iranian Drilling Company to North Drilling. By awarding them multiple large projects, including moving drilling rigs, catering, and purchasing goods, he funded his brother’s election campaign in Ramhormoz. These contractors also bought a luxury Land Cruiser and a black BMW for Mohammad Bahmaei.
After North Drilling, with a recommendation from Hafezi, the head of the oil security department and a friend of Jashnsaz, he was appointed as the head of security planning at the National Iranian Oil Company, where he committed numerous abuses. He was then appointed head of security at the Matan Company while retaining his previous role.
However, in less than six months, due to extensive financial and employment corruption, he was directly dismissed by the Minister of Oil. He was removed from the oil ministry’s security department and cleansed due to the corruption. At the end of 2016, exploiting his position, he extorted 200 million tomans for New Year from the National Iranian Drilling Company. Sadegh Ghorbani, the financial director who had been excessively loyal to Bahmaei, transferred this money to a nut shop in Tehran, which Bahmaei collected.
But this was just the beginning. Mohammad Bahmaei and Reza Khalili, deputy of the National Iranian Oil Company, deliberately replaced Heydar Bahmaei, CEO of the National Iranian Drilling Company, with a submissive figure like Sepahri, who had numerous financial violations and a court case in the revolutionary court. This was to control all transactions and appointments within the company for their financial gains.
Petro Asmari Company, related to Mr. Jalayer Khalili, brother of Reza Khalili, influenced by Reza Khalili in the South Oil Regions Company, withdrew 8 billion tomans from the company’s account during the construction of a 90-bed guesthouse in Ahvaz, due to delays, negligence, and baseless claims, followed by a lawsuit.
Again, surprisingly, with Reza Khalili’s influence, the company won the tender for a 16-inch gas pipeline project in the oil-rich regions. Despite delays and negligence, it claimed 50 billion tomans for damages through its usual tactic of court complaints. The issue was resolved with the efforts of the oil-rich regions’ management and a ruling by the head of the judiciary. However, after transferring the case to Tehran and lobbying, 46 billion tomans were deducted from the South Oil Regions Company’s account and deposited into Petro Asmari’s account.
Bahmaei allocated multiple projects in the National Iranian Drilling Company to Jahane Pars, Marine, and Petro Arvand Asia companies, related to Reza Khalili’s brothers, to pay Khalili’s share for appointing Sepahri.
The special Iran Gate file on Mohammad Bahmaei has published several articles. If interested, you can find more information from the links below.
- Who is Mohammad Bahmaei? Corruption in the Petrochemical Mafia Part Two