Ali Akbar Velayati has a massive influence on Iran’s Government due to his close relationship with Khamenei. He has been mentioned in many different cases of corruption. Some of which includes:
- the case of a 1,000-square-meter house and how Velayati purchased it,
- his role during the Covid-19 pandemic importing Favipiravir from Japan and promoting the ITM,
- him becoming the Trustee of the Islamic Azad University (IAU) and later the President of the university via an order from Khamenei. Below explains these cases further:
Velayati’s lavish home:
In October 2020, a reporter recorded a video of the wall of Velayati’s house. He was then sentenced to six months in prison for “filming from forbidden locations.” According to published information by various sources, Velayati did not pay a fair price for his
house; instead, he acquired it for less than market value through personal relationships and corruption. In 2022, Velayati put this same building up for sale with a price tag of around 6 million USD. It is not clear whether he has sold the house or not and, if so, who bought it.
Velayati importing Covid-19 vaccine:
At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and after the ban on the import of Western made Covid-19 vaccines by Khamenei, Velayati showed his support for the Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM). At the same time, some reports claimed Velayati got exclusive rights to import Favipiravir from Japan, which can be used for the treatment of Covid-19, and stored them for the use of the Islamic Republic officials.
Velayati at Islamic Azad University (IAU):
Velayati was appointed by Khamenei as the President of the Board of Trustees of the IAU in January 2017. Essentially, Khamenei bypassed the board of trustees and chose Velayati without its consent. He enforced a strict dress code on IAU students, such as a ban on wearing short sleeve shirts for men and casual clothes for women at the IAU’s dormitories.
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Further details on these findings and more are available here.
