TEHRAN - Judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmaeili said on Tuesday that investigation will continue over the performance of Valiollah Seif, the former governor of the central bank.

During a press conference, Esmaeili said that the ambiguities over the Seif case will be cleared up soon.

In late July 2018, Seif was replaced by Abdonnaser Hemmati, after the country’s currency hit a record low against foreign currencies.

The value of national currency, rial, started nosediving both before and after the Trump administration officially withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and returned sanctions. Some believe the poor performance of Seif led to more depreciation of the national currency.

In follow-up to the return of sanctions, some opportunists hyped the situation and fished in the troubled waters. Consequently, the Judiciary decided to counter the move by bringing some culprits to the book.

The first public court trial of individuals involved in major economic corruption cases following the sanctions was held on August 25, 2018, with names of defendants released.

According to Tasnim news agency, the names of defendants were made public after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei permitted then Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani to take special measures in order to confront economic corruption and called for “swift and just” legal action against financial crimes.

In a letter to the top judge in August, 2018, Ayatollah Khamenei wrote, “Punishment of convicts of economic corruption must be carried out urgently and justly, and appropriate meticulousness must be given to the designation of sentences by courts.”

NA/PA