A billionaire businessman has been executed in Iran for his part in a $2.6 billion state bank scam following the largest fraud case since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, also known as Amir Mansour Aria, was put to death at Evin prison, just north of the capital, Tehran, according to Iran's state television. The execution came after Iran's Supreme Court upheld his death sentence, but Khosravi's lawyer, Gholam Ali Riahi, claimed it was done in secret, and he was not given any notice his client's death.
The fraud involved using forged documents to get credit at one of Iran's top financial institutions, Bank Saderat, and dated back to 2007. The credit was then used to purchase assets including state-owned companies such as major steel producer Khuzestan Steel Company.
According to Iranian media reports, the bank fraud began in 2007. A total of 39 defendants were convicted in the case. Four received death sentences, two got life sentences and the rest received sentences of up to 25 years in prison.
The trials raised questions about corruption at senior levels in Iran's tightly controlled economy during the administration of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mahmoud Reza Khavari, a former head of Bank Melli, another major Iranian bank, escaped to Canada in 2011 after he resigned over the case. He faces charges over the case in Iran and remains on the Islamic Republic's wanted list. Khavari previously admitted that his bank partially was involved in the fraud, but has maintained his innocence.