Iran banks big on murky oil ‘trustees’ as war with US on the horizon | Corruption News
Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities are establishing unofficial channels for oil sales and essential goods imports as they navigate the challenges presented by U.S. sanctions and the threat of conflict. However, judges and experts have expressed concerns regarding the potential for corruption within this expanding network.
State-linked “trustees” have reportedly facilitated hidden transactions in exporting Iranian petroleum and other sanctioned products, resulting in billions of dollars in proceeds that remain outside the country, according to oil executives, lawmakers, and judicial officials.
During a meeting this month, judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei criticized these trustees, questioning how they were granted access to oil resources and demanding accountability for the returned funds. “Who gave them this oil and other facilities?” Mohseni-Ejei asked provincial officials. “Was it not you who said you audited these trustees?”
For years, Iran has struggled to repatriate foreign currency earnings from its oil exports, exacerbating an already frail economy marked by soaring inflation and a declining national currency.
In mid-February, a former senior oil executive, Ali Akbar Pour Ebrahim, described a significant change in the management of Iran’s oil revenues coinciding with the decline of the 2015 nuclear agreement. He indicated that during former President Hassan Rouhani’s administration, the Ministry of Petroleum directly managed oil revenues, but this oversight diminished under President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration.
Pour Ebrahim disclosed that the Petroleum Ministry had been compelled to close its trustees and turn over management to bank trustees, who have allegedly exploited this system. He estimated approximately $11 billion remains unaccounted for, with trustees reportedly utilizing shell companies to obscure the movement of funds.
The trustee model, which Pour Ebrahim criticized as prone to corruption, is set to expand as authorities prepare for possible military conflict. Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh announced that importers of essential goods would soon have access to oil for barter transactions. Starting in late March, these importers will be introduced by the Agriculture Ministry to the Petroleum Ministry for oil shipments.
This initiative follows a recent government decision to eliminate a preferential currency exchange rate for essential goods imports, which was deemed corrupt. Importers who previously saw their profits diminish are now positioned to benefit as oil trustees.
Media reports suggest that the Mostazafan Foundation of Islamic Revolution, a significant state-run charity, could become one of the new recipients of Iranian oil shipments, although officials within the foundation state they have not yet received any oil.
In addition, new policies allow governors in Iran’s border provinces to import essential goods directly in the event of a war, using alternatives to foreign currency.
A separate development last week indicated Iranian authorities may be selling sanctioned vessels for scrap to finance the acquisition of new ships that can evade sanctions. A former Ports and Maritime Organization official noted that one sanctioned vessel had recently been sold for approximately $14 million, significantly below the market value of non-sanctioned tankers.
Despite widespread sanctions, Iranian officials maintain that oil sales continue to perform robustly, even as the U.S. intensifies efforts to restrict the country’s oil exports.
