Published by IranSource of the Atlantic Council 

No one was prepared for the avalanche of information Parviz Fattah unleashed during a live interview with Iran’s national broadcaster on August 8. The 59-year-old former energy minister named several top political personalities and organizations, including military bodies, who were using Mostazafan Foundation properties, an organization Fattah now heads, without paying proper rent.

Contrary to its humble name, the Mostazafan Foundation—a parastatal behemoth tasked with helping “the oppressed”—is one of the largest commercial enterprises in the Middle East. Its declared assets are over 560 trillion Iranian rials (coming to around $2.4 billion even with today’s low exchange rates). It runs mobile networks, energy companies, hotel chains all over Iran (and even one in Dubai). Unsurprisingly, it has also been a storied den of grift and corruption.

Parviz Fattah: The new Ahmadinejad that may be running for president