Fatemi Circle

The Fatemi Circle (Persian: حلقه فاطمی) is a nickname given to a clique of statesmen within the Government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reported to have been involved in numerous corruption scandals in Iran.[6]

Fatemi Circle
Foundedc. 2005[1]
Named afterFatemi Street[2]
Founding locationTehran
TerritoryIran
Membership54 suspects[1]
11 jailed (as of January 2011)[3]
Leader(s)Mohammad-Reza Rahimi (alleged)
ActivitiesEmbezzlement, money laundering, bribery, fraud
AlliesBabak Zanjani (alleged)[4]
Notable membersAlleged:
Jaber Abdali, Elyas Mahmoudi, ? Masoudi[5]

The clique became publicly known in April 2010, when Elyas Naderan, a Majlis member stated "Mr. Rahimi is the head of the corruption circle in Fatemi Street who made decisions about collecting resources from corrupt sources and about their distribution, and now almost all members of this economically corrupt network in Fatemi Street have been arrested except the current First Vice President of Iran." The claim was backed by Ahmad Tavakkoli and Ali Motahari.[7]

According to the Chief Justice of Iran, "The members of this gang were able to deprive citizens and the treasury of billions of tomans through forging administrative and judicial documents. One of them alone was reported to have embezzled 6 billion tomans ($6 million USD)."[7]

Iran Insurance case
Main article: Iran Insurance embezzlement case

The Fatemi Circle is said to be responsible for an embezzlement scandal that occurred within the state-owned Iran Insurance company.[2] In 2013, the names of 12 people convicted in the case was announced: Mostafa Hamzeh-Nosi, Davoud Fahimi-Roudposhti, Badiollah Kiani, Jaber Abdali, Mohammad-Taghi Tavakkoli, Ali Jalil, Shahriar Khosravi, Mahmoud Bagheri, Iraj Abdolhamidi, Fariborz Farid-Danesh, Davoud Sarkhosh-Shahri and Yousef-Ali Darounparvar.[8]

References
  1. "نام‌های بزرگ در دادگاه اختلاس از بیمه ایران متهم کیست؟". Aseman Magazine (in Persian). October 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  2. Farokhnia, Hamid (January 11, 2011). "A Vice President Like No Other". Tehran Bureau. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  3. Sinaiee, Maryam (January 16, 2011). "Iranian conservatives vilify ally of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad". The National. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  4. "Top Ahmadinejad aide indicted on corruption in connection to businessman Zanjani". Hurriyet. March 18, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  5. Bahmani, Arash (January 2011). "Shajooni Turns Out to be a Billionaire; Naderan a Fake War Veteran". Roozonline. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  6. "Financial corruption of former government officials pursued". Islamic Republic News Agency. April 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  7. Mazaheri, Riehaneh (April 23, 2010). "Corruption Without End". Tehran Bureau. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  8. "احکام قطعی گروهی از متهمان پرونده بیمه ایران صادر شد" (in Persian). Iranian Students News Agency. April 22, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
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