Unlawful Contracting of Development Projects to Passdaran

Meysam Tavab, Rooz Online:

Following the decrees of ayatollah Khamenei regarding the privatization of some large government businesses, military commanders have begun serious measures to take advantage of this for the benefit of the Baseej para-military groups and the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps. Specifically, some Passdaran commanders have expressly requested that companies under the control of the leader of the Islamic regime be passed over to Passdaran members and their relatives.

The leader of the Islamic regime, ayatollah Khamenei recently issued a decree through which he outlined the specific steps for privatizing many large government business entities. These companies include the Mobarake Steel plant in Isfahan, Iran Khodro car manufacturing plant, Saipa car manufacturing entity, Khuzestan Steel Corp, Tejarat Bank, Mellat Bank, Saderat Bank, Refah Bank, all shipping companies, Homa airlines, Asseman airlines, Asia insurance company, Dana insurance company, and Alborz insurance company.

News report also indicate that in an act that is considered to be illegal, the Ministry of Power has handed over all its power and water development projects to the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards without following written procedures for such transfers. According to an agreement between the two, all power, water and dam construction projects around the country in the provinces of Western Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Lorestan and Khuzestan will be completely contracted out to the Passdaran.

Based on very explicit provisions of Iran’s Constitution, the allocation of projects that cost more than 100 million Rials should be contracted only through official tenders; otherwise the contract is deemed illegal. The recent agreement between the Passdaran and the Ministry of Power falls precisely under this provision, but these provisions have been completely by-passed. READ MORE

Experts estimate that the astronomical monetary values of the Passdaran and Energy Ministry contracts for these projects, whose completion will take years, are worth thousands of billions of Rials. The large size of the projects also ensures that even if all the resources if the Passdaran were put to use in these provinces, the projects would not be completed.

Based on specific analysis, economic experts have are completely baffled by the decision of the Ministry of Power, suspecting of fowl play and hidden goals.

It is worth mentioning that Ahmadinejad's Minister of Power used to be a former member and contractor of the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards in Karkheh dam. He has also been managing director of an electricity development company and former chairman of Passdaran –owned Malek-e Ashtar University.