Hossein Hedayati

After documents from a hack of the judiciary and a video showing Hedayati outside prison while serving his sentence circulated, media outlets and internet users claimed that he had been released or given preferential treatment. Iran's judiciary officially denied his release, stating that he was on lawful prison leave and had returned to custody.

Attribution

Directly implicated

In the Bank Sarmayeh case, Hossein Hedayati was sentenced in 2019 to twenty years' imprisonment, a permanent ban on public employment, restitution of hundreds of billions of tomans and 74 lashes. Prosecutors accused him of obtaining substantial loans and credit, directly or through related companies, using guarantees, documents or arrangements deemed irregular.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Legal status — source text

Conviction

Attribution

Directly implicated

Former Persepolis managing director Ali Akbar Taheri published documents and claimed that amendments related to an agreement with Steel Azin had been backdated to the original contract date, that a proposed arrangement was intended to avoid tax and that Hedayati sought to credit new payments retroactively against the contract for several years of previous financial assistance to the club.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Directly implicated

Hedayati challenged the ownership and privatisation of the Ahvaz rolling and pipe company, maintaining that he held a stake and accusing the Iranian Privatisation Organisation and its officials of unlawfully transferring or reselling the asset. A complaint he filed against the head of the organisation was reported as dismissed.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

During the attempted privatisation of football club Persepolis in 2015, the eligibility of the Steel Azin consortium associated with Hedayati was challenged and subsequently rejected, particularly amid reports concerning bank debts and ownership structure. The decision triggered considerable media controversy over the transparency of the process and the bidder's actual solvency.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated