Iran Expects West’s Collaboration for Extraditing Fugitive Banker
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The head of the General Inspection Office of Iran called on Western countries to collaborate with Iran in extraditing economic criminals among whom former head of Iran's Bank Melli, Mahmoud Reza Khavari, who had been convicted in the controversial $2.6 billion financial fraud case.
Nasser Seraj made the demand during the Ombudsman Global Conference in South Korea and in his bilateral meetings with the heads of most of the ombudsman offices of the Western countries.
In his bilateral meetings, Seraj referred to the articles of the fourth and fifth chapters of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and reminded the signatories of their responsibilities in extraditing those convicted in the $2.6 billion financial fraud case.
During the negotiations, the Western ombudsman offices reportedly pledged necessary cooperation.
The embezzlement case started in 2007 by Amir Mansour Arya Investment Company, and developed in 2010 after some Iranian major banks, including Bank Saderat and Bank Melli, granted loans for the company.
Iranian officials say that the case involved the use of fraudulent documents to obtain credit for this investment company, one of the country's top financial institutions. The company used them to purchase assets such as state-owned companies.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has placed Khavari on its Red Notice Wanted list.
In the case of Red Notices, the persons concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions for prosecution or to serve a sentence based on an arrest warrant or court decision.
