London-Reports on obscenely handsome salaries received by senior Iranian officials blasted through the community causing rage and eventually leading to the official resignation of the chief of the supervisory board, Mohamed Ibrahim Amin.
The scandalous suit placed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a tight spot, especially with reports mentioning his futile efforts concerning counter-corruption amid a dire recession.
The scandal was rocked by a series of exposed summaries of bank accounts belonging to high-ranking officials being circulated online. Many senior executive officials employed at the institution responsible for managing state insurance and finances were being paid fifty times over the minimum wage set for government employees.
In an attempt to cope with the situation spiraling out of hand, President Rouhani issued orders to Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri to investigate the published reports which led Amin to resign.
Concerning the source behind leaked information, it remains unknown.
One of the account summaries revealed, over 870 million Iranian Rials (an approximate $28,000) being deposited within a month. The common known minimum wage for civil servants in Iran is known to be nine million Iranian Rials (approximately $290). Moreover, Iranian law dictates that the paycheck of the highest paid governmental official should not exceed ten times the minimum wage.
The exposés stirred wide controversy and occupied Iranian national headlines. The first signs of the scandal appeared two months ago, with reports detailing bank accounts of government officials going viral.
In an attempt to handle the crisis, Spokesperson of the Government Mohammad Bagher Nobakht stated at a Wednesday press conference that Rouhani’s administration will tackle any case of corruption with no leniency.
Over the last week large sums of money rustled into the accounts of bank managers, and heads of insurance institutions received a loud protest across the Iranian street. Rouhani’s administration pointed fingers towards the former governing body headed by ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which had granted the green light for the massive payrolls.