An Iranian court has sentenced former central bank governor Waliullah Saif to 10 years in prison for violating the currency system.
According to the AP News Agency, the spokesman of the Iranian judiciary Zabihullah Khodian told the state TV channel that in addition to violating the currency system, the former governor was also involved in smuggling foreign currency.
Zabijullah added that Waliullah Saif's deputy, Ahmed Araghchi, was also sentenced to eight years in prison on similar charges.
Eight other people involved in the case have also been sentenced to different terms of imprisonment. Each of them has been given the right to appeal.
Under former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Waliullah Saif served as governor of Iran's central bank for five years until 2018, while Ahmad Araghchi served as his deputy from 2017 to 2018.
State TV reported that the former governor was also involved in currency market violations in 2016, at a time when the Iranian currency was facing significant difficulties compared to major foreign currencies.
The state-run TV channel added that the suspects had illegally entered the market with 160 160 million and 20 million euros.
At the beginning of Ahmad Araghchi's tenure as deputy governor, the rate of the Iranian currency riyal was 39,000 paise per dollar in 2017, but when he was fired in 2018, the rate reached a record high of 110,000 riyals per dollar. Was
The change in currency rates coincided with partial US sanctions on Iran.
In addition, US sanctions on Iran have led to a sharp decline in the country's oil exports, Iran's main source of income.
