The Iranian Ministry of Justice stated that the main perpetrator behind a massive investment fraud—luring over 20,000 people with promises of low-priced car purchases and siphoning off approximately 350 million US dollars (about 1.437 billion ringgit)—was executed on the 7th.
The Ministry of Justice said that the head of the company Rezaayat Khodro Taravat Novin, Jafari, was sentenced to death for 'mass disruption of the national economic system' and cyber fraud. The Supreme Court upheld the original sentence, and execution by hanging was carried out on the 7th.
This fraudulent scheme began in 2013 in the northern Iranian province of Qazvin. Jafari promised the public the ability to buy cars at prices lower than market value, and later expanded the scheme to include real estate and various investment plans.
Prosecutors accused Jafari and his accomplices of defrauding the public of 'huge sums of money.' The entire operation was essentially a Ponzi scheme—using funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier clients.
The Ministry of Justice stated that the amount involved in the scam, converted at current exchange rates, is about 350 million US dollars, while in reality, only about 4% of customers actually received cars. There were over 28,000 complainants in the case, with a total of 28 defendants.
The Ministry of Justice emphasized that the court worked to ensure victims could receive compensation, giving the defendant every necessary opportunity to repay investors. During the trial, Jafari even claimed a willingness to repay the investments, which could have spared him the death penalty. However, since the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence in August, and despite multiple 'warnings and final deadlines,' Jafari was still unable to repay the funds, and the death penalty was ultimately carried out.
In Iran, the death penalty not only applies to crimes like murder and rape, but also to major economic crimes and espionage cases.