‘20 USD rent’ for 150-hectare property highlights corruption in Iran

The story: Iran's struggle with deep-seated corruption has come to the fore with a reported scandal at the Endowments and Charity Affairs Organization. A daughter-in-law of the powerful state entity’s chief is said to have been renting a sprawling property overseen by the organization for a nominal monthly fee.

Amid a public outcry and heated reactions on Iranian social media, the organization has said its head was not involved in the deal and that the property was lawfully let before he took over.

The scandal has raised questions about oversight at state bodies that answer to the supreme leader. At the same time, there are speculations of an element of political maneuvering as revelations of corruption cases tend to be politically motivated.

The coverage: Vahid Ashtari, a journalist seen as close to hardline former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, first reported the scandal on June 18.

• Ashtari alleged that Mona Chaichian, a daughter-in-law of Endowments and Charity Affairs Organization chief Mehdi Khamoushi, has been renting a 150-hectare property in the northwestern city of Qazvin.
  
  
• The plot of land is among numerous properties owned or overseen by the organization, and includes the historic Aminiha House along with a cattle farm that is home to around 1,000 animals.
  
  
• Ashtari, who has a history of reporting scandals, alleged that Chaichian was only paying a monthly fee of some 10M IRR (20.55 USD at the open market rate) for the massive property.

Abolfazl Aminiha, whose family endowed the property to the state decades ago, confirmed Ashtari's report on June 19.

• Aminiha told the ILNA news agency that the property had been rented to Chaichian "at least four or five years ago," before he was entrusted with the property's custodianship.
  
  
• "When I took over and realized that this woman was our tenant, they pressured us not to say anything," Aminiha claimed.

In response to what it described as Ashtari "spreading rumors," the Endowments and Charity Affairs Organization said in a statement on June 18 that Khamoushi was in no way involved in his daughter-in-law renting the property.

• The organization said that because the property is a "non-seized" asset, it only "oversees" its management. In such cases, it said, contracts are signed between the property's custodian and tenants.
  
  
• The state-controlled body insisted that the contract was signed before Khamoushi took over as head of the organization in Oct. 2018.
  
  
• The Endowments and Charity Affairs Organization added that it "reserves the right" to take legal action against Ashtari and maintained that it would do so.

Reactions to the scandal on Iranian social media have been heated, with many expressing a sense of being fed up with widespread corruption and nepotism.

• In response to the organization claiming that Khamoushi was not involved in his daughter-in-law renting the property, Reformist journalist Ehsan Bodaghi questioned whether the authorities are aware of people's problems "when they don't even know what's going on with their own families."
  
  
• Hardline former lawmaker Hamid Rasaee criticized Khamoushi on June 19 and suggested that relatives of people in power enjoy opportunities not available to ordinary Iranians. "What angers people more than corruption is discrimination," he added.
  
  
• In an apparent attempt to exonerate Khamoushi, conservative cleric Hossein Ebrahimi reiterated that the contract had been signed before he was named to head the organization.

The context/analysis: The Endowments and Charity Affairs Organization is a state-controlled body whose chief is appointed by the minister of culture and Islamic guidance, albeit once approved by the supreme leader.

• Khamoushi, who was appointed to lead the organization in Oct. 2018, notably serves as a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
  
  
• The Endowments and Charity Affairs Organization is believed to be one of the wealthiest state bodies in Iran. It has been described as "the biggest capitalist" second only to the government.
  
  
• While the organization concedes that it has "significant assets," it denies that it is among the richest state entities in the country.

The powerful Endowments and Charity Affairs Organization is no stranger to allegations of corruption.

• Since 2014, the organization has been accused of land-grabbing and engaging in illegal construction by not only members of the public but also lawmakers.
  
  
• The organization has rejected the allegations, and in 2014 said "lawmakers should not comment on matters which they have no information about."

While it is the minister of culture and Islamic guidance who names the organization's chief, the entity effectively answers to the supreme leader.

• The parallel power structure indicates that oversight when it comes to the organization's activities could be lax.

The future: If past is prologue, corruption scandals tend to be politically motivated and geared to impose change through discrediting incumbent state managers.

• Given the vast number of properties overseen by the Endowments and Charity Affairs Organization, control of the entity would entail access to major financial resources necessary to provide political patronage.
  
  
• Iran has in recent years seen a series of power plays involving top positions such as the presidency as well as the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). Such maneuvering can be expected to intensify as political actors position themselves for leadership transition given 84-year-old Khamenei’s advanced age.