Iranian ex-ministers handed jail sentences in corruption scandal

An Iranian court has sentenced two former ministers to prison over a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal linked to imported tea, the judiciary announced on Tuesday.

The case, known in Iran as the Debsh Tea Scandal, was opened in 2023 and implicated more than 60 people, involving a total of $3.7 billion, the Iran newspaper reported in May, citing the country’s chief justice.

Forty-two defendants were sentenced in the case, including former agriculture minister Javad Sadatinejad and former industry minister Reza Fatemi Amin, said Mizan Online, the judiciary’s news outlet.

Sadatinejad received a one-year sentence, while Fatemi Amin was handed two years for their roles in the scandal, Mizan reported.

The pair, who served under late president Ebrahim Raisi, were convicted of complicity in disrupting the country’s economic system, with the sentences deemed "final and binding".

The court also sentenced Akbar Rahimi-Darabad, the chief executive of Debsh Tea company, to 66 years in prison for various crimes, including disrupting Iran’s economy, smuggling foreign currency and bribery.

Rahimi-Darabad was ordered to repay over $2.38 billion in smuggled funds and a fine of $1.5 billion.

Under Iranian law, jail sentences run concurrently, meaning Rahimi-Darabad would serve 25 years for the longest of his convictions.

In April 2023, lawmakers impeached Fatemi Amin over soaring car prices.

That same month, Sadatinejad was sacked from his position. In May 2024, he was sentenced to three years on another corruption case involving animal feed imports.