The late president established a corrupt system that continues to benefit elite clans, including his own<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The late statesman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was both a founder and a victim of the kleptocratic system at the heart of the Islamic Republic. A shrewd strategist who was at once a man of the people and a ruthless elitist, his presidency, from 1989 to 1997, gave rise to the clannish power networks and corrupt institutions that paralyze Iran\u2019s economy. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lack of comprehensive public business records from the Rafsanjani era make tracing his family\u2019s role in Iran\u2019s economy difficult, but Rafsanjani was a dedicated diary keeper and one of the few IRI officials to publish annual memoirs until his suspicious death in 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These memoirs, augmented by our research into current business records and whistleblower interviews, offer a wealth of information about his relationship with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top decision makers, family scandals, and watershed events that took place behind closed doors and were never shared with the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also paint a picture of a man who never traveled abroad without several<\/a>, if not all, members<\/a> of his family<\/a> in tow. Rafsanjani unabashedly appointed his close relatives to various positions of power, helped them secure prestigious jobs, and sent them abroad to study. He doled out public funds to whomever he pleased: regime officials, his own family members, and the families of known terrorists like Anis Naccache<\/a>, who led a failed attempt to assassinate Shapour Bakhtiar<\/a>, Iran\u2019s last prime minister before the Islamist takeover. They also show a man who sent<\/a> <\/a>his children<\/a> to negotiate<\/a> with various countries on behalf of Iran instead of using the foreign service apparatus created specifically for this task.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tehran Bureau provides an in-depth look at the Rafsanjani family\u2019s business interests. In part one of this series, we examine the network of Mohsen Hashemi, Rafsanjani\u2019s oldest son, who has held prestigious posts in Tehran\u2019s municipal administration, national transport, and the Expediency Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and his wife of almost six decades, Efat Marashi, had five children: Fatemeh (now 60), Mohsen (59), Faezeh (58), Mehdi (51), and Yaser (50).<\/p>\n\n\n\n All five of the Rafsanjani children are involved in Daftar Nashr Maaref Enqelab (aka Office of Publishing Revolution Learnings), a publishing house dedicated to the works of Rafsanjani and works on Rafsanjani.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Official information about Daftar Nashr Maaref Enqelab\u2019s board has not been updated since 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rafsanjani\u2019s oldest son, Mohsen, is married to Azam Hashempour<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> and has three sons: Emad, Ehsan, and Alireza. Emad is married to Zahra Seyyed Rouhani<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini\u2019s great-granddaughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mohsen, who holds a degree in mechanical engineering from a Canadian university, was involved in the IRGC missile project for at least four years, based on his September 2011 interview with Khabaronline<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the age of 28, while his father was president, Mohsen became the head of the Presidential Office of Inspections<\/a>, holding this position for eight years. When his father became the head of the Expediency Council, Mohsen became his chief of staff. He also served as Azad University\u2019s construction deputy<\/a> for four years until, in 2017, he won a seat in the 5th Tehran City Council <\/a>and became its chairman. Mohsen Hashemi is the head of the central council of the Executives of Construction Party (ECP)<\/a>, which was founded by former cabinet members and friends of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1996.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mohsen Hashemi has been on the board of several companies including:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Refah Cultural Bonyad<\/strong> (linked to Mohsen Rafiqdoust<\/a>) as a board member since 2007.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Tehran Metro Company <\/strong>as CEO, board chairman, and vice chairman for a decade (2003\u20132013) until he was replaced with Habibollah Bourbour<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Tehran Metro Station Complexes Development Co<\/strong> as a board member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Iran Rail Association <\/strong>as board chairman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Operation (TUSRO)<\/strong> as board chairman and vice chairman until 2013. Other TUSRO board members who served alongside Mohsen include:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rabiei is the CEO of the US Treasury\u2013sanctioned Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co (PGPIC<\/a>) and deputy of projects and planning<\/a>\u00a0 for the Defense Industries Organization (Armed Forces). He had a stint at the Expediency Council, and there were rumors<\/a> that he was a contender for oil minister in Ebrahim Raisi\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Tamadon Azad Pars Tourism Development Co.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mohsen was chairman of this company\u2019s founding board and represented the interests of Azad Pasargad Development Co.<\/strong> on its board of directors. Both of these companies are Azad University subsidiaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Azad Pasargad Development<\/strong>\u2019s <\/strong>articles of incorporation describe it as an \u201cinvestment company\u201d that \u201cmanages factories in any industrial sector\u201d\u00a0 as well as participating in the \u201cpurchase, sales, packaging and distribution of all legal products,\u201d \u201c investment in foreign and domestic companies\u201d and \u201cmanaging, designing, supervising and implementing construction projects, land surveying, road construction and dam construction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Established on May 8, 2016, Tamadon Azad Pars<\/strong> is involved in \u201cinvestment, executing and operating projects [such as] tourism, recreational and hospitality facilities and any other activity related to tourism, raising capital and partnership with any and all foreign and domestic individuals and entities in the tourism sector . . . including hotels, hospitality centers, tourism, recreational, sports, cultural, historical, educational and business complexes,\u201d \u201coperating domestic and international tours via air, ground or sea,\u201d and \u201cpartnering with production and economic units and investment in any and all domestic and international companies.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other Tamadon Azad Pars <\/strong>board members include:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of Mohsen Hashemi\u2019s three sons, Alireza Hashemi Behramani has been in Switzerland since at least 2015 and is currently conducting thesis research at the University of Geneva, according to its website<\/a>. Alireza and his father have two companies registered in France: Rubis D\u2019Evian<\/a> (real estate) and Rubis De Maxilly<\/a> (construction and real estate). Alireza and his uncle Yaser<\/a> founded another company in France in 2017, SCCV Rubis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOverview: The Rafsanjani Children\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mohsen Hashemi\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n