Who is sitting around the Steel table? The Steelgate 3 corruption case
One of the key aspects of the Steelgate 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’s shareholders 180 billion tomans. Of course, not all these gifts were cash; they included everything from apartment units to blood pressure machines and gaz (a type of Persian nougat).
According to IranGate, the 91 trillion toman misconduct in Mobarakeh Steel has vast dimensions, and the Parliament’s investigation report on this case can be examined from various angles. One of these aspects is the gifts and donations that Mobarakeh Steel generously gave to individuals and entities. In the extensive list of Mobarakeh Steel’s gifts, one can find everything from payments to Friday prayer leaders to a 200 million toman party organized by the Esfahan Governor’s Office.
Ignoring the payment cap by the CEO
During the period covered by this report, from the beginning of 2018 to July 2021, Mobarakeh Steel spent about 180 billion tomans on gifts.
An important point about these gifts and donations is that they were paid from the discretionary fund available to the CEO. However, according to the Mobarakeh Steel Board of Directors’ resolution, the CEO could only spend 300 million tomans on these gifts without informing the shareholders in 2020. Therefore, these payments contradict the company’s policies and resolutions.
It seems that the company initially made these gifts and then sought approval from the general assembly, as in August 2020, the cap for donations was raised to 50 billion tomans, and in March of the same year, to 150 billion tomans.
The 200 million toman party by the Esfahan Governor’s Office
Most of the payments made by Mobarakeh Steel Esfahan were either at the request of influential individuals, such as parliament members, or at the request of executive bodies. This is despite the fact that receiving any form of money, goods, or services by executive bodies is illegal and prohibited.
For example, the IRIB received sums for supporting Mobarakeh Steel Esfahan managers and inviting them for interviews, as well as for supporting senior provincial managers to gain the support of parliament members. The governorate and the governor’s office also received over two billion tomans in cash from Mobarakeh Steel, which is illegal. The report even mentions that the Esfahan Governor’s Office received 200 million tomans from Mobarakeh Steel for organizing a party. Additionally, the head of security at Mobarakeh Steel Esfahan received 275 million tomans in gift cards from the company, the use of which is unclear.
On the other hand, most of these funds were deposited into personal and non-governmental accounts, and there was no oversight on them. Therefore, there are ambiguities regarding their use and even the commission of crimes such as money laundering with these funds.
Mobarakeh Steel Esfahan had influence in elections
In addition to the cost of organizing the party, the Esfahan Governor’s Office received more than 25 billion tomans from Mobarakeh Steel. About two billion tomans of this amount was for helping organize elections, which was indirectly deposited into the accounts of companies contracted with the governor’s office. Therefore, the suspicion of Mobarakeh Steel’s involvement in the election results is not far-fetched.
The Provincial Roads and Urban Development Department also received one billion tomans from Mobarakeh Steel Esfahan at the request of one of Esfahan’s parliament members.
Policemen who turned into thieves
According to the Parliament’s report, Mobarakeh Steel deposited over 15 billion tomans into the accounts of the police force at the request of military and police commanders. The Sepah-e-Sahib al-Zaman of Esfahan, Basij bases, and the Ministry of Defense also received over 63 billion tomans from Mobarakeh Steel. The judiciary also received 300 million tomans from Mobarakeh Steel in less than four years.
Steel and Hyundai cars parked in the Intelligence Department
According to this report, Mobarakeh Steel paid over 2.6 billion tomans to the Provincial Intelligence Department of Esfahan in 2019 and 2020. However, the gifts from Mobarakeh Steel Esfahan were not limited to cash, as the Provincial Intelligence Department also received three Hyundai cars, including one Elantra and two Tucson models. Additionally, this department received about 130 million tomans in shopping vouchers from Hakopian stores as a gift from Mobarakeh Steel.
The share of Friday prayer leaders was reserved
Friday prayer leaders were not left empty-handed 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, the construction of mosques, and the Friday prayer organizing committee. The Arbaeen committee and the Islamic Student Union each received 500 million tomans from Mobarakeh Steel.
Donating 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. Moreover, Mobarakeh Steel paid over 1.1 billion tomans for changing the use of these units from residential to administrative.
Mobarakeh Steel Esfahan’s collusion with the Parliament
One of the items mentioned in the Parliament’s report is the 34.6 billion toman payment by Mobarakeh Steel Esfahan for various construction projects. However, the main point of this story is the involvement of Zahra Saeedi Mobarakeh, the then-representative of Mobarakeh County, in determining and allocating this amount. Saeedi’s connection with Mobarakeh Steel and its CEO does not end here, and it seems that this parliament member’s advertising expenses were also paid by Mobarakeh Steel.
45 billion tomans for gaz
During the period covered by this report, Mobarakeh Steel gifted 4,675 enamel plates, 1,590 pairs of vases, 571 perfumes, 101 external hard drives, fabric, flash drives, headphones, power banks, and more to influential individuals in governmental and non-governmental organizations. The value of these gifts is estimated at over 5.3 billion tomans.
Additionally, one of the strangest points in this report is the payment of 45 billion tomans from Mobarakeh Steel’s petty cash for purchasing gaz and gifting it to individuals outside the company. Moreover, Mobarakeh Steel paid over 15 billion tomans in shopping vouchers from various stores to government officials. Gifting 80 blood pressure devices to inspectors and the Dispute Resolution Council was also one of Mobarakeh Steel’s actions.
Everyone is involved
The recipients of gift cards from Mobarakeh Steel form a long list, which we will examine further.
The report mentions payments of 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 Industry, Mining, and Trade and its experts, 60 million tomans to the Director General and experts of Agricultural Jihad, four million tomans to the Director General and experts of Natural Resources, 63 million tomans to Social Security managers, 10 million tomans to the Zarrin Shahr Police Command, 15 million tomans to the CEO and deputies of the Regional Electricity Company, five million tomans to the Gas Company CEO, 36 million tomans to the Environmental Organization, 36 million tomans to the Esfahan Oil Company, and 14 million tomans to the Registry Office.
Continuing this list, there are payments of 12 million tomans to the head and secretary of the Facilitation and Production Barriers Removal Task Force, 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 Depository Company, 70 million tomans to the Central Bank, 79 million tomans to the Privatization Organization, 60 million tomans to bank 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 IRIB, and 70 million tomans to the governorates.
Furthermore, Tuka Transport Company, a subsidiary of Mobarakeh Steel, received over 36 billion tomans in gifts, the beneficiaries of which are unknown.
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