Iran’s Police Ready to Nab Fugitive Banker if Canada Cooperates
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari voiced the Law Enforcement’s readiness to capture Mahmoud Reza Khavari, a former top Iranian banker who has fled to Canada after committing a massive fraud, in cooperation with the Canadian government.
Speaking at a press conference in Iran’s northwestern city of Ardebil on Wednesday, the commander said initial measures have been taken to bring Khavari to justice, saying the police force is prepared to capture and hand him over to the Judiciary.
Ashtari added that the Iranian police, in cooperation with the Interpol, has also detected the hideouts of some other criminals who have fled the country after committing fraud.
Khavari, said to hold dual citizenship and own a home in Toronto, fled to Canada after a $2.6 billion financial fraud came to light in 2011.
The embezzlement case started in 2007 by Amir Mansour Arya Investment Company, and developed in 2010 after some Iranian major banks, including Bank Saderat and Bank Melli, granted loans to the company.
Although the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has placed Khavari on its Red Notice Wanted list, efforts to extradite him to Iran have gone nowhere so far.
