Gholamreza Farahani, who was the CEO of NICO last year, has recently been appointed as the special advisor to the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company. This appointment comes as informed sources within NICO have stated that Farahani recorded the lowest sales figures in the company's history during his one-year management. NICO plays a crucial role in providing currency for essential items like wheat and medicine.
Poor Performance and Its Consequences
Some believe that NICO's poor performance in oil sales is one of the factors behind the increase in currency rates and inflation, which ultimately led to the bloody protests of last December. Farahani has close connections with well-known corruption rings in the energy industries, including Bahmei and Mohammad Jannati. Additionally, Arsham Zolfaghari, a well-known currency dealer whose father was arrested for currency theft, is one of the faces in Farahani's corruption ring for money laundering and exporting currency resulting from his financial misconduct out of the country.
Crisis in the Essential Goods Market
Receiving special commissions from intermediaries of essential goods and medicine imports, with the condition of paying bribes to the Bahmei, Jannati, and Farahani gang, has plunged the market for these items into crisis. Hossein Ghasemi, another active figure in this ring, coordinated with ship owners to prevent the unloading of ships, resulting in heavy demurrage for members of this corruption gang. Deliberate delays of more than three months for oil cargoes at sea have also been another pattern of corruption by this group, leading to increased maritime freight costs and imposing billions of tomans in expenses on the country's treasury.
Family Connections and Unanswered Questions
Farahani's family connections with a network of trustees should also be noted. Farahani's daughter in Dubai has collaborated with several trustees and purchased various accounts, villas, and apartments from her father's dealings. The important question is why a manager with such a level of inefficiency and corruption has been appointed as the special advisor to the Oil Minister? Has Paknejad also had a special share in this organized corruption? This issue once again highlights the networked nature of corruption in the Oil Ministry and provides an answer to the dubious appointments of corrupt managers in this ministry.
