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The FBI, Hillary and the Alavi Foundation (Iran) Posted on March 26, 2015 | Comments Off on The FBI, Hillary and the Alavi Foundation (Iran) It was a secret: The Alavi Foundation says its purpose is “promoting the teaching of Islamic culture, Persian language, literature and civilization.” The Alavi Foundation’s site, a 36-story midtown Manhattan skyscraper originally built in the 1970s by the Pahlavi Foundation, an entity of the Shah-led government of Iran. After the Shah was overthrown in 1979, the new Iranian regime took it over and renamed it. Lev L. Dassin, the Acting United States Attorney for the...

On December 19, 2007, a U.S.-based law firm succeeded in freezing the funds of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in France on behalf of American clients who, in the judgment of U.S. courts, were victims of terrorist attacks sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran.  Iran has been using its state institutions as agents of the terror activity it perpetrates throughout the world. The funding for this terror activity is partly provided via Bank Melli and sometimes also via Bank Saderat. Bank Melli also played a pivotal role in financing the 1994 AMIA bombing in Argentina. AMIA was...

An office tower is subject to forfeiture because revenue from it was secretly funneled to a state-owned Iranian bank in violation of a U.S. trade embargo, a judge ruled Monday. … The U.S. government had said the Alavi Foundation’s sole partner in the ownership of the 36-story Manhattan building was a shell company fronting for a secret interest held by the state-owned bank of Iran, Bank Melli. The Iranian government has been designated by the U.S. as a sponsor of international terrorism, an allegation it has repeatedly denied. …

A bank fraud scandal of unprecedented proportions is shaking domestic politics in Iran. Several of Iran's largest banks have been swindled out of an estimated $2.6 billion. The scandal has sparked a widening investigation with more than 30 arrests so far. It has also led to charges that some of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's closest advisers were involved. On its face, it appears it was easy for some of Iran's most important bankers to steal so much money. All they did was secure falsified letters of credit from several key banks, and money started flowing into the accounts of an investment...

A top Iranian banker who resigned amid a massive embezzlement scandal, one that has soured the political fortunes of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has fled the country and is reported to be in the Toronto area – where a $3-million home is owned in his name. The scandal is described as the biggest fraud in that country’s history. The amounts of money involved exceed even the $2-billion loss the Swiss bank UBS recently sustained due to a rogue trader.

Iran's Press TV is reporting that Mahmoud Reza Khavari, the head of Bank Melli, fled to Canada after resigning for his alleged role in the embezzlement scandal Our columnist Muhammad Sahimi compiled the following news items and commentary: The Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs announced that several senior banking officials have been sacked in the wake of the embezzlement of close to $3 billion. According to the statement by the ministry's public relations office, Mahmoud Reza Khavari (pictured), chief operating officer of Bank Melli -- Iran's largest bank -- and Farzad Ahmadi, a member of the bank's board of...

US Attorneys are seeking to seize mosques and real estate assets owned by a non-profit Muslim group with alleged ties to the Iranian regime. The assets are owned by the Alavi Foundation and an alleged front-company, the Assa Corporation. US Attorney Preet Bharara stated that the Foundation's affairs have been directed by Iranian officials, including Ambassadors to the United Nations from that nation in ways that violate a series of American laws. The seizure of assets appears to be related to a federal court decision this Tuesday that the president of the foundation must stand trial for allegedly destroying documents...

Federal prosecutors are taking steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a New York City skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization

Note: The following text is a quote: http://treas.gov/press/releases/tg46.htm March 3, 2009 TG-46 Treasury Designates Companies Tied to Iran’s Bank Melli as Proliferators Washington, DC -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated 11 companies under Executive Order 13382 for their ties to Iran's Bank Melli. E.O 13382 is an authority aimed at freezing the assets of Weapons of Mass Destruction proliferators and those who support them. Bank Melli has been designated as a proliferator by the United States, the European Union, and Australia for its role in Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Additionally, United Nations Security Council Resolution...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1330.htm December 17, 2008 HP-1330 Treasury Designates Bank Melli Front Company in New York City Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated ASSA CORP., a front company created and controlled by Iran's Bank Melli and domiciled in New York, and its parent organization, ASSA CO. LTD, located in the Channel Islands. "This scheme to use a front company set up by Bank Melli -- a known proliferator -- to funnel money from the United States to Iran is yet another example of Iran's duplicity," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial...

The Bush administration moved Wednesday to clamp down financially on a New York City business suspected of acting as a front company for Iran's Bank Melli, which has been accused of providing support to Iran's nuclear program. "This scheme to use a front company set up by Bank Melli - a known proliferator - to funnel money from the United States to Iran is yet another example of Iran's duplicity," said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The UK-based Daily Telegraph has reported that Iranian assets are being funneled back to Teheran using financial intermediaries in Dubai. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reportedly authorized the transfers as fears rise that Iranian financial institutions may come under European Union sanctions. The Iranian media has reported that the move caused tension between the president and the governor of Iran's central bank, Tahmaseb Mazaheri, and that Mazaheri may resign as a result. Mazaheri took over the leadership of the central bank in 2007, as he replaced outgoing governor Ibrahim Sheibani who resigned due to Ahmadinejad's moves to influence the central bank's...