Cryptocurrency funds illicitly taken by officers from the Revolutionary Guard amounted to $21 million.
In 2021, crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi found himself in the crosshairs of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard after being arrested for undisclosed reasons. The arrest marked the beginning of a series of events that would unveil a complex web of fraud, forged documents, and the illegal use of confiscated cryptocurrencies.
At the heart of the scandal was the confiscation of cryptocurrencies worth $21 million from Estavi, including six million BRG tokens. The Revolutionary Guards' actions came after the price of BRG, likely Estavi's token, crashed following the sale of these tokens.
Two Revolutionary Guard officers, Mehdi Hajipour and Mehdi Badi, were among the recipients of these six million BRG tokens from Estavi. In a twist of events, Hajipour and Badi went on to sell the confiscated tokens, earning several tens of millions of dollars.
Hajipour, who initially amassed a wealth of $40,000, saw his fortune skyrocket to almost $2.5 million just four months after Estavi's arrest. However, his wealth came under scrutiny when he was accused of trying to defraud Estavi for an additional $10,000 by claiming he could buy the stolen BRG tokens back cheaply.
The conspiracy is said to have reached as high as Ali Akbar Hosseine Mehrab, the former director of the Anti-Corruption Department of the Revolutionary Guard. An official suspected of involvement in the illegal use of the confiscated BRG tokens is General Hossein Salami, according to leaked documents.
Estavi was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 75 lashes for forging documents, selling non-existent goods, and defrauding his customers of around $20 million. The court also found him guilty of using forged documents in the sale of the BRG tokens.
In a surprising turn of events, Estavi managed to escape from Iran to France in 2023. Hajipour, on the other hand, was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard's counterintelligence in March 2022. He was found to have forged an ID to carry out his fraudulent activities.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the potential dangers and complexities involved in the world of cryptocurrencies, especially when handled improperly or with ill intentions. As the investigation continues, more details are expected to emerge, shedding light on the intricate web of events that transpired.
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