Khamenei's Man In Mashhad Misappropriating Charity Money

Iran International Newsroom
Ahmad Alamolhoda (center) with Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei (right) and President Ebrahim Raisi in a ceremony
Ahmad Alamolhoda (center) with Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei (right) and President Ebrahim Raisi in a ceremony

A hardline whistle-blower has released documents about corruption within one of Iran's biggest charities controlled by a Supreme Leader aide, Ahmad Alamolhoda.

Ayatollah Alamolhoda -- the Friday Imam of Mashhad, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative in the city and the father-in-law of President Ebrahim Raisi -- has been pocketing large sums of money from the Goharshad endowment without any real responsibility or duties. 

As part of the decree that gives the charitable foundation to Alamolhoda, he can have 10 percent of its total income as his personal salary, while another 10 percent provides the salaries of all the other staff who work there.

The revelations were made by Vahid Ashtari, known for revealing corruption among Iran’s senior officials. He published a thread of tweets on Monday with details about one of the biggest financial endowments of the country, Goharshad, ironically meaning Happy Jewel in English, which was handed over to senior firebrand cleric Alamolhoda six years ago. 

A view of the Goharshad mosque built by the order of Empress Goharshad, the wife of Shah Rukh of the Timurid dynasty in 1418 CE
A view of the Goharshad mosque built by the order of Empress Goharshad, the wife of Shah Rukh of the Timurid dynasty in 1418 CE

The Goharshad endowment has more than 1,000 hectares of land in Mashhad and more than 5,700 lots of land and real estates in the city of Chenaran, about 45 km (about 27.96 mi) west of the city. However, 5,700 is only the number of the lots that have separate documents while the real number is nearly 26,000 (25,825) pieces of property, including agricultural and animal farms.  

In Iran, such endowments are like holding companies with several cultural, educational and healthcare institutes as well as other affiliated companies working in horticulture and construction. A report by IRNA in 2019, cited a deputy of the Endowment Organization of Khorasan Razavi province as saying that Goharshad is the most profitable charitable organization in the province. 

Granting the guardianship of such a colossal entity to Alamolhoda was controversial in the first place, but new details have caused further outrage among Iranians. 

Not surprisingly, Alamolhoda has done what most of the influential regime insiders do with such opportunities. He asked the managerial board of the foundation to give him the 10-percent cut but he relinquished all decision-making and responsibilities to the province’s Endowment Organization.

Since its construction in the early 15th century, Goharshad mosque has served as a Friday Mosque for pilgrims to the shrine of Imam Reza.
Since its construction in the early 15th century, Goharshad mosque has served as a Friday Mosque for pilgrims to the shrine of Imam Reza.

Ashtari is a member of Edalat Khahan (Justice Seekers), a political group of mainly of young conservatives and university students who are loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and are also close to former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili who ran against Raisi. In April 2022, his revelations sparked the Layette-gate scandal that led to calls for the resignation of Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and resurfacing of other alleged corruption cases against his family. 

In June, Ashtari revealed in a series of tweets that a 150-hectare piece of land endowed by a local family in Qazvin including a farm with 1,000 cattle has been rented out at a monthly rent of 10m rials (around $20 at current exchange rates) to Mona Chaychian, the daughter-in-law of the head of the State Endowment Organization Mehdi Khamoushi, another Khamenei appointee. 

Ashtari who dubbed the case as “Daughter-in-Law Favoritism in Endowment Organization” pointed out in his tweets that young couples are unable to rent a basement in the outskirts of the city of Qazvin with the same amount of money as a point of comparison. “The Endowments [Organization has officially turned into the back yard of corruption [-mongers],” he wrote. 

The Organization has confirmed the deal but claimed that Khamoushi was not involved in it and threatened to sue the whistle-blower.  

In the case of the parliament speaker, Ashtari revealed that Ghalibaf’s wife, daughter and son-in-law had returned from Turkey with massive extra luggage including a baby bed and stroller that formed part of the layette for his yet unborn grandchild. All this as Iranians have to pay hefty prices for imported goods and tens of million are now considered to have sunk into poverty.

Critics accused Ghalibaf of hypocrisy for his admonishing others for luxury and telling Iranians they should support domestically made products. 

Ashtari has been sentenced to two years in prison and banned from media and social media activity for his role in what has been dubbed “Layette Gate”. It is believed he has appealed the sentence. 

According to the annual list released by Transparency International in January, Iran ranks 150 out of 180 countries in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), one stop lower than the previous year. 

The regime authorities routinely criticize corruption in the country, with Khamenei having issued an anti-corruption decree, demanding the heads of the three branches of government not slacken in efforts against graft. All this while it is Khamenei's own inner circle which has become most notorious for its own corruption.