Top Iran Official Admits Corruption In Deadly Building Collapse
A high-ranking Iranian official has admitted that "corruption" was the underlying reason for the collapse of a high-rise building that led to days of protests.
A high-ranking Iranian official has admitted that "corruption" was the underlying reason for the collapse of a high-rise building that led to days of protests.
Raja News website which speaks for the ultraconservative Paydari party quoted governor general of Khuzestan Province Sadegh Khalilian as saying that the Metropol Towers were built during Iran's previous government, adding that "the building was erected on the foundations of corruption and unhealthy relations."
Officials say they have recovered more than 40 bodies but citizens say many more people were inside when it collapsed.
Earlier, Iranian media and social media activists had pointed out that the owner of Metropol maintained illicit links to individuals, as high-ranking as Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme Council of National Security. They accused the bigwig of helping the owner Hossein Abdolbaghi by using his influence through local officials including his nephew Mo'ud Shamkhani.
Mr. Shamkhani, an IRGC general, categorically denied using his influence, but subsequently, other reports mentioned further details about the link including family bonds between the Shamkhanis and Abdolbaghis, which could not be denied.
The decision to hint at some of the corruption involved in building the towers could have been made at a higher level in the government. The official Instagram account of the Iranian government on June 5 also posted a photo of the ruins of Metropol Tower in Abadan that collapsed on 23 May. The text in the post quoted Khalilian as saying: "The Metropol incident is the consequence of unhealthy relations and lack of supervisory measures."
Khalilian was the first high-level official to confirm media reports about financial corruption in the tragedy. He acknowledged that there has been corruption in the province dating back to 2015-2020, distancing himself and the Raisi administration that assumed office in 2021.
Unlike most of Iran's local governors who come from the Revolutionary Guard’s top brass, Khalilian was previously an academic at the University of Ahvaz and the Teachers Training University in Tehran although he had started his career as a petty officer in the IRGC.
Khalilian said that the local authorities at the time were aware of the building's instability in with at least two series of reports given to them by the engineering supervisory body in 2017 and 2019, but they simply ignored it because of those "unhealthy relations", which means bribery in the Iranian administrative jargon.
He added that the building was illegally constructed in an alleyway that was only 4 meters wide and this made search and rescue efforts difficult, and that the building permit was for a 6-story building and five floors were added later.
Khalilian had earlier said that 13 local officials including the cities last three mayors are under arrest. Earlier this week, former governor general of Khuzestan Gholamreza Shariati who has been implicated in corruption cases, left Iran for the United Arab Emirates and reports about his "escape" were published on social media. Later, the Iranian Judiciary said that he was not implicated in the case.
On Tuesday, Shariati wrote on social media that he is back in Iran, however, there is no evidence that the statement was really made by him or if he did return. Khalilian said that leaving the country was a mistake by the former governor and called on the judiciary to take this into account.
Talking further about corruption Khalilian said, "Perhaps no money has changed hands, but when high-ranking officials take part in the opening ceremony of the building, this creates an aura of security around the owner, and everyone believes that he is a well-connected person."
Initial reports by local reporters living abroad indicated that Abdolbaghi had given expensive lands or buildings to some local officials as gift.
According to footage circulating in social media, security forces fired warning shots and used violence to disperse the gathering of people in front of the robbed branch of the bank near the University of Tehran.
State-owned Bank Melli (National Bank) public relations office announced that the head and deputy head of the branch had been fired "for negligence." But hundreds of people who lost their life savings or important documents demand compensation.
Officials said an investigation was also underway, with several bank employees “under observation” for possible “dereliction of duty.” Three suspects are being interrogated in custody.
The gall of the robbers has fed social media speculation, and even comparisons with famous bank robberies elsewhere in the world, like the 1983 Brink’s Mat heist in the United Kingdom.
Bank Melli issued a statement on Tuesday denying social media reports that 1,000 boxes had been breached, saying thieves had entered the branch and accessed 168 safety deposit boxes. Earlier reports said the number was 200 to 250 boxes.
The exact details of the stolen property and documents have not yet been released, and in the past two days some Bank Melli officials have stated that the bank "has no criminal and legal responsibility for the contents of the boxes."
Media and officials in Tehran say it is not clear what the bank robbers stole from the safety deposit boxes, since banks have no information about what people put in these boxes, which are used to safely store personal mementoes, precious foreign currency, and gold coins bought as a hedge against inflation.
It is also not clear if there is any kind of insurance covering losses sustained by customers. One report last year suggested Iranians were keeping $25-$30 billion in cash “at home,” which would include money in bank deposit boxes.
The bank is about half a mile from the headquarters and residence of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran was on a four-day holiday from Thursday to Sunday marking the death anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic. Apparently, the robbers gained access during the holiday, and it is not clear how long they were inside. They managed to open four sealed doors, reached the coffers, and destroyed security cameras, and took the hard drives, practically leaving no trace behind.
One former bank official told Iranian media that it would next to impossible to break through one of the main safe doors protecting the safe deposit boxes. “One would need days to break through the door with blow torches,” he said. Some doors were protected with electronic passes, codes and alarms.
A series of suspicious events that happened since last week, has led to speculations that the robbers may have sought some specific documents and have come from abroad for the heist.
On Thursday, an Iranian hacktivist group named ‘Uprising till Overthrow' hacked into and deactivated over 5,000 surveillance cameras and 150 websites and online services of Tehran Municipality. The robbery happened in the early hours of Friday. And the passport control system at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport was reportedly hacked on Saturday, stranding passengers for a couple of hours.
Reformist daily Shargh wrote that the “Raisi Administration still does not believe that the Presidential election ended last year. Its officials still continue making exciting comments and offer strange promises as if they are on a TV show.”
Shargh charged that as far as government officials are concerned, for every problem the easiest solution is blaming the previous government. This way of thinking has its own keywords including "Those who are responsible for the current situation" and "putting Rouhani on trial." These keywords are meant to provide social capital for the Raisi administration and make up for the inefficiency of the government.
According to Shargh, the government is not aware that these slogans will not solve the country's problems. For a short period, the people might accept to blame the previous government but soon they will realize it is the fault of the current administration.
Shargh charged that this approach will lead the people to believe that Iran's neo-cons and principlists or hardliner conservatives are the accomplices of the advocates of regime change in Iran, apparently by discrediting the regime.
On the other hand, Khorasan newspaper, which supports the Raisi Administration and is linked to the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, also criticized the government from a different perspective.
Highlighting the country's serious economic problems, Khorasan criticized the government for lack of planning and urged it to prove that it can govern efficiently.
Interestingly, while under the previous government, President Hassan Rouhani was personally the main target of criticisms, now the media and politicians direct their criticism toward the “Raisi Administration” rather than the president himself, as if he is untouchable.
Khorasan wrote that "This is the fifth year Iran is experiencing unusually high inflation particularly with food prices, therefore, high inflation is Iran's most important problem." the daily warned that in the future the Raisi Administration will be judged by the degree of its success in tackling inflation.
The conservative daily stressed that "There are serious concerns about where this inflation is going and why it is not being harnessed."
This comes while the rate of exchange for the US dollar in Tehran surpassed 320,000 rials on Tuesday, setting a record low. "How this trend is going to continue, keeps everyone waiting for the decisions of the government's Economic Coordination Board,” wrote Khorasan.
During the past nine months or so, lack of coordination among various economic bodies has been a recurrent criticism that was being made by Iranian politicians and media.
Khorasan suggested that the government needs to prove that it is efficient, and its experts know what they are doing, bringing about positive prospects for Iran's foreign relations, and shifting from its reactive tactics to economic planning.
According to Khorasan, creating a positive atmosphere about the nuclear issue and negotiations will help form an optimistic mood towards the economy.
Although this might sound like a new approach by a conservative newspaper, the final paragraph of Khorasan's article shows that not much has changed as the paper called on the government to finalize the controversial 25-year economic cooperation deal with China.