Human resource changes at Hormoz Pasargad Company and appointments described by informed sources as ethnic and nepotistic have once again brought the method of appointing Tohid Lotfipour, head of one of Masoud Pezeshkian's campaign headquarters during the elections, to manage this organization into focus. Informed sources remind that Tohid Lotfipour, who previously worked as a transportation expert at Tabriz Pasargad Oil Company, was approved by the Topico Appointments Committee without having the necessary qualifications and was appointed as the CEO of one of the subsidiaries of this holding, Hormoz Pasargad.
This appointment, according to these sources, has resulted in the company entering a loss-making situation within just one year; this is despite Hormoz Pasargad having a profit of 600 billion tomans last year according to documents.
Hiring Relatives at the Start of Management
Lotfipour, born in 1997, upon entering Hormoz Pasargad, formalized his wife, Mrs. Pirmohammadi, and his office manager named Jalili. This is while his wife was previously only a simple employee at Persi Gas Company. However, these cases are only part of the costly and nepotistic appointments attributed to his management period in this company.
According to information from informed sources, a group of competent employees was removed from the organization to vacate positions for individuals close to Lotfipour based on ethnic relations. Lotfipour has also claimed in private gatherings that Moulavi, an inspector from the Presidential Office, is related to him, and using this connection, he has brought a large number of appointed staff in the company's departments from Tabriz without having the necessary expertise.
From Hiring Managers' Relatives to Transferring Staff from Tabriz
This pattern, according to informed sources, has progressed to the point where Lotfipour has granted privileges to influential high-ranking managers of Topico to maintain his position. For example, a relative of Tavakoli, the former CEO of Topico, was employed in a high position in this organization with a diploma degree. The insistence on hiring and appointing managers from among Tabrizi staff and individuals with family relations with Lotfipour becomes more significant when, according to sources, he has repeatedly introduced himself as close to Masoud Pezeshkian in private gatherings by displaying a photo of Pezeshkian's presence at his home.
According to these narratives, Lotfipour has also used this connection to threaten critical employees with security actions and dismissal. According to informed sources, the wave of family hirings is only part of the widespread irregularities that have occurred in this organization. What directly links this method of appointments to the company's financial situation is the multiple increases in the salaries of newly appointed individuals compared to the dismissed staff.
The sudden increase in human resource costs during Lotfipour's management period, according to these sources, has been one of the factors leading to the company's increased expenses and its entry into a loss-making situation; a company that had a profit of 600 billion tomans last year according to documents. The expansion of appointments based on ethnic and family relations in Hormoz Pasargad has also created a wave of dissatisfaction among the organization's old staff. These staff believe they have fallen victim to the CEO's family dealings with the Azerbaijani staff of the Presidential Office.
Another issue that should be considered during this individual's management period is his name appearing in the bitumen corruption case, where according to documents and reports published in oil industry circles, serious financial and managerial corruption occurred in the sale process of about 40 million dollars' worth of bitumen from Pasargad Oil Company, equivalent to nearly five thousand billion tomans.
Meanwhile, the main question is directed at Masoud Pezeshkian himself; the head of the fourteenth government, who in his last television interview explicitly stated that if anyone has evidence of appointments based on relations with him and his associates, they should present it. Now the question arises, what response does the head of the fourteenth government have regarding the CEO position of an individual who, according to sources, has introduced himself as close to the head of the government by displaying a photo of Pezeshkian's presence at his home and used this connection to secure his position?
The issue of Hormoz Pasargad should also be considered alongside the series of appointments of the Azerbaijani circle of the Presidential Office; a circle whose appointments have extended to the appointment of the Secretary of the High Council of Free Zones. Critics say that in these appointments, ethnicity and connection to this circle have sufficed for reaching managerial positions, and in contrast, specialization, contrary to the claims of government officials, has fallen victim to these relationships and widespread dealings.
