An Iranian court has sentenced two former ministers to prison in connection with a multi-billion-dollar corruption case involving imported tea, the judiciary announced on Tuesday.
The case, known as the Debsh Tea Scandal in Iran, was opened in 2023 and implicated over 60 individuals, involving a total sum of $3.7 billion, as reported by the Iran newspaper in May, citing the country’s chief justice.
Among the 42 defendants sentenced in the case were former agriculture minister Javad Sadatinejad and former industry minister Reza Fatemi Amin. According to Mizan Online, the judiciary’s news outlet, Sadatinejad received a one-year prison sentence, while Fatemi Amin was handed a two-year sentence for their roles in the scandal.
Both former ministers, who served under the late president Ebrahim Raisi, were convicted of complicity in undermining the country’s economic system. Their sentences are final and binding.
In addition, Akbar Rahimi-Darabad, the CEO of Debsh Tea company, was sentenced to 66 years in prison for multiple offenses, including disrupting Iran’s economy, currency smuggling, and bribery. Rahimi-Darabad was also ordered to repay over $2.38 billion in smuggled funds and fined $1.5 billion.
Under Iranian law, jail sentences are served concurrently, meaning Rahimi-Darabad will serve 25 years for the longest of his convictions.
Fatemi Amin had been impeached by lawmakers in April 2023 due to soaring car prices, while Sadatinejad was dismissed from his post in the same month. In May 2024, Sadatinejad received a three-year sentence in another corruption case involving animal feed imports.
