James Warren
THE former CEO of the Iranian Sarmayeh Bank has been extradited back to Iran following his arrest in Spain on corruption charges.
Alireza Heydar Abadipour was arrested back in June last year after an Interpol warrant was placed on him for alleged crimes committed in his home country.
He was placed on Iran’s ‘most-wanted’ list after being tried remotely and found guilty of charges of ‘disrupting the country’s financial system through corruption and acquisition of illegitimate property.’
Abadipour is accused of taking part in a large scale fraud and embezzlement case worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Based on the issued red notice and coordination with the Spain’s police and diplomatic authorities, the suspect was apprehended,” said Hadi Shirzad, commander-in-chief of Iranian Interpol.
Abadipour is said to be the first of a number of arrests set to be made to combat Iran’s increasing corruption in its banking sector.
His arrest also marks the first arrest of its kind to take place in the EU.
Abadipour touched down in Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran yesterday and will face a total of 12 years in prison.
Head of Iranian Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi explained that he hopes that this recent case will strike fear into the hearts of other corrupt executives that have sought sanctuary in western countries.
Over the past 10 years, several high profile Iranian financial fugitives have been apprehended thanks to international arrest warrants, including the former CEO of Iran’s largest bank, Mahmoud Reza Khavari.
