TEHRAN, March 4 (Alliance News): An Iranian court has sentenced two former ministers to prison over the Debsh Tea Scandal, a $3.7 billion corruption case involving more than 60 people.
Former agriculture minister Javad Sadatinejad received a one-year sentence, while former industry minister Reza Fatemi Amin was handed two years for their roles in the scandal, according to Mizan Online, the judiciary’s news outlet. Both officials, who served under late president Ebrahim Raisi, were convicted of complicity in disrupting Iran’s economic system.
The court also sentenced Akbar Rahimi-Darabad, the chief executive of Debsh Tea, to 66 years in prison for smuggling foreign currency, bribery, and disrupting the economy. However, under Iranian law, he will serve a maximum of 25 years. He has also been ordered to repay $2.38 billion in smuggled funds and pay a fine of $1.5 billion.
Fatemi Amin was previously impeached in April 2023 over rising car prices, while Sadatinejad was dismissed the same month. In May 2024, Sadatinejad was sentenced to three years in a separate corruption case involving animal feed imports.
