Iran Protests continue in various cities across Iran, over regime-backed fraud

Looted customers held protests this weekend in Tehran and Mashhad to demand the return of their savings, MEK sources report from inside Iran. The protests are the most recent in a series of protests by customers in cities across Iran who have had their savings stolen from them.

Customers of the Caspian Credit Institution gathered in Tehran on Sunday to demand that the regime’s parliament hold the credit firm accountable for the illegal Ponzi scheme that robbed millions of Iranians of their savings and investments.

Badr Tous Clients Protest

On Saturday in Mashhad, clients of Badr Tous, one of the financial institutions which merged with Caspian before it declared bankruptcy, protested in front of the governorate in Khorasan Province.

The protesters addressed officials at the Caspian Credit Firm and the Iranian regime when they chanted, “Is this the Central Bank, or the center of thieves?”

“Caspian has committed theft, the government has supported it!”

The protesters were clear in stating that the regime was complicit in the looting of their savings. They also vowed to continue to protest until their money is returned. Credit firm clients have protested off and on for well over a year now, so their threats carry weight.

Bankruptcy and Looted Accounts

In 2017, Caspian and four other credit institutions declared bankruptcy, emptying billions of dollars of money from its investors’ accounts. The credit institutions, which were closely tied to regime officials, had received permits from regime ministries to take investor money and were widely trusted by the Iranian people. Three years prior to their collapse, the credit institutions began collecting investments from Iranians, promising high rates of return. Many people deposited their life savings into the credit institutions, believing that they would be safe there. After the collapse of the credit firms, the customers found their accounts were empty. Protests have been taking place since then. The MEK has reported on the ongoing protests as they have occurred.

Sekeh Samen Clients Protest

Also on Saturday, customers of the website Sekeh Samen gathered in front of the headquarters of the Gold and Jewelry Union in Tehran to protest the union’s corrupt practices. The union was one of the primary supporters of the website. Protesters entered the union building and chanted slogans as part of their demonstration.

Sakeh Samen was launched in 2016 as an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of precious metal coins and gold products. The site claimed to provide 24-hour services worldwide. However, in August of 2018, the website suddenly took down its online trade section, supposedly for maintenance. The Gold and Jewelry Union, which is responsible for regulating the trade of precious metals, then ordered the closure of Sekeh Samen altogether. Thousands of online traders were left with emptied accounts and no way to collect on their debts.

The Gold and Jewelry Union claimed that Sakeh Samen did not have a work permit, but the union had actively promoted the site on its online portals and in its facilities. The site’s inexplicable closure has triggered another series of protests against the regime’s financial corruption and mismanagement.

The MEK supports the protests against the regime and its corrupt economic policies. The mullahs’ mismanagement of the Iranian people’s wealth affects people from all walks of life, and it will only get worse until the regime is toppled and Iran is free.
Staff Writer