Shahram Jazayeri Arab (Persian: شهرام جزایری عرب) is an Iranian oligarch who was involved in a high-profile corruption case.^[1]

Early life and education

He started the business by selling ice cream in his youth. Jazayeri was a student of dentistry in Kerman.^[2]

Career

Jazayeri "accrued unimaginable riches during a short time in the 2000s through corruption and connections with influential officials."^[3] He owned some 500 import-export companies and made through use of shell corporations, making monitoring of his activities difficult; while he made connections in the Parliament of Iran at the same time, where he was presented as an economic expert in some hearings.^[2]

Trial and imprisonment

Jazayeri was arrested in 2001 while boarding a commercial flight to the United Arab Emirates, when he was initially prosecuted for influence peddling and providing fake passport for an Afghan citizen.^[2] Charges against him included: bribery totaling 38 billion rials ($4.75 million), fraud to obtain loans amounting to 811 billion rials ($101 million), and setting up bogus companies.^[4] On 18 November 2002, Jazayeri was sentenced to 27 years of imprisonment.^[5] In September 2004, the supreme court partially overturned the conviction^[6] and sent back his case to the lower court awaiting trial.^[7] The court of appeal in 2008, reduced his sentence to 14 years and ruled that he must pay $145 million to the Iranian government, including $48 million owed to the state-owned Bank Melli Iran.^[1]

In 2007, an Iranian newspaper reported that, unlike ordinary prisoners in Iran, Jazayeri had access to a laptop and two mobile phones, and is living in luxury in prison, continuing his business activities overseas.^[8]

Escape from prison

Jazayeri escaped from guards during a transfer on 20 February 2007, and reportedly fled the country afterwards.^[9] He was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence on 18 March 2007, in "one of the countries on the Persian Gulf".^[10] Iranian media reported that four senior officials in the judicial system were fired for his escape.^[1]

Release from prison and later arrests

He was released on 3 October 2014.^[11] Jazayeri was detained again in Mashhad on 6 August 2016, charged with "disturbing public peace."^[12] On 29 July 2018, he was once again arrested while hidden in a consignment of lentils in an attempt to illegally cross the Bazargan border. A prosecutor said he may face a "relatively long-term imprisonment" in January 2019.^[13][14]

Scam in Prison

Shahram Jazayeri started to selling crypto scam token with name of Power Cash in Tehran Bozorg Prison. ^[15] he is also released shahrambank coin and shahramcoin.

References