IslamicFinance.de

A move by Iran to recover bad debts on behalf of banks has shed light on possible corrupt lending under the country’s previous president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. President Hassan Rouhani’s administration, in power for nine months, says bad debt in the banking system has reached a “critical” level – 15.6 percent. The authorities this week have handed the names of 575 of the biggest defaulters to the judiciary to try and recover some of the $33 billion owed. The list has not released but some believe the bulk may have been borrowed by as few as 100 people and firms. The bad debt may hamper Rouhani’s plans to boost employment and raise living standards. However, analysts also see positives in the new openness on the debt problem and moves to fix it.

It seems that Iranian authorities have brought to trial 32 people suspected of involvement in a multi-billion dollar banking fraud with alleged links to the government of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The case spinns around forged documents allegedly used by the directors of the Amir Mansour Arya Investment Co to secure loans totalling $2.6bn to buy state-owned companies under the government's privatisation scheme.