In the Anzali Free Zone, Ali Reza Hajati has become a powerful mafia figure in extorting managers and receiving special shares for car clearance in these areas.
Neither the previous nor the current CEO has had the power or authority to dismiss him, and they all acknowledge that Hajati's security capabilities and his history of collaboration with Sajedi, the head of Gilan's intelligence department, have specifically created a protective shield for him. This has led to him extorting 400 billion tomans in just one year in the car clearance corruption case with a small circle of his associates.
Silence of Higher Authorities and Free Zone Secretariat
According to some customs brokers and informed sources, despite protests and correspondence with higher authorities, the CEO of the Anzali Free Zone and even Hossein Forouzan, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, have only responded by acknowledging their inability to confront Hajati's corruption. Forouzan has only promised to request an investigation from the Secretariat's General Security, while he is well aware that the previous and current CEOs of Anzali lack the power to change this manager, and ending Hajati's corruption activities requires more effective action beyond mere security confrontations.
The strange aspect of Hajati's broader corruption and extortion case is that, according to internal forces in the Anzali Free Zone, Hajati has openly extorted administrative staff and deputies by accessing various employee and manager files, a result of his tenure in Gilan's intelligence department, and by introducing security figures as security department employees. This has extended to the level of canceling orders and resolutions of the deputies or requesting the issuance of appointment orders and various resolutions from the deputies of the Anzali Free Zone.
Extortion from Free Zone Employees and Contractors
This circle of extortion has reached the level of demanding shares from contractors of construction contracts, leading to the belief in Anzali that the region is not managed by its CEOs but is under the control of Hajati as the head of security and his connected security network. Numerous images from Anzali citizens obtained by security forces clearly reveal the decline of the security department's status in this organization.
Hajati was appointed as the head of security in October 2023 by Akbar Niazi, the then acting head of Anzali, and has retained his position despite changes in CEOs in this region. He has openly declared in various gatherings that no manager, even at the level of the Supreme Council of Free Zones Secretariat, has the courage or ability to change him. According to information, Hajati, without an executive record, was appointed to this position due to his retirement from Gilan's intelligence department and recommendations from security forces.
Collaboration with Provincial Intelligence Director, Hajati's Protective Shield
One of the reasons for this special appointment is Hajati's continued collaboration with Sajedi, the Director of Gilan's Intelligence, which has manifested in issues like extortion for car clearance but has also been active in other layers.
The smuggling of medical equipment and expensive watches that are brought into the region in suitcases and coordinated exits without customs oversight are only part of this economic collaboration between Hajati and Sajedi.
This issue, compared to similar activities in other free zones, is reminiscent of bitter events that lead to outcomes like the collapse of the Metropol in Abadan. In most free zones, the feudalization of management is evident. The experience of individuals like Abdolbaghi in Abadan resulted from the extensive powers of managers and deputies who, by partnering in his corruption, were given the opportunity to devastate a city. What makes Hajati's actions in Anzali exceed the level of mere corruption is the normalization of open extortion by a mid-level manager among economic activists. The only way to conduct economic activities in the region is through compliance and submission to Hajati's corruption and demands.
Forouzan's Silence, Admission of Inability to Address Corruption
The more critical question is directed at Hossein Forouzan, the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Free Zones. How does the clear operation of Hajati's extortion network, which according to informed sources has been repeatedly submitted to him in the form of letters and requests, continue without any clear action? Forouzan's claim of sending the case to the General Security is effectively handing over the investigation of a corruption ring to another circle of the same intelligence network, making Forouzan's approach an admission of his inability in managing appointments in free zones.
A person who took the seat of the Supreme Council of Free Zones Secretariat with the slogan of fighting rent-seeking and corruption has, in practice, had no solution other than ignoring the case when faced with a clear example of corruption because he is aware that he has no authority to confront these interconnected corruption cartels.