William Sullivan in his book, "Mission to Iran" says, when in 1978 in a private party at his residence in Tehran, where a group of high ranking Iranian government officials, senators and MPs had attended, he spoke about "time for changing things in Iran" all the guests spoke against it at the dinner table and defended how the Shah was handling everything greatly! Later when guests were leaving the house and Mr. Sullivan was accompanying them to the door one by one, many of the same people expressed their agreement with "need for change" privately and quietly at the door! From those, Sullivan remembers the first who expressed such agreement who was a high ranking officer in NIOC and held ministerial positions in the past, without mentioning his name. From description of course, no one fits such figure other than Hushang Ansary, head of NIOC in 1978 and former minister of economy and finance.
Later in the same year, the infamous "list" of names of the people who had taken money out of the country was secretly circulated by National Bank staff with the name of Mr. Ansary on top with the figure of about 500 million! We now know that the list was wrong about many of the names mentioned in there but when we look at the financial activities of Mr. Ansary, one can not help but to remember the list! Mr. Hushang Ansary left the country a few months before revolution for "health" reasons when he went to visit Kharg island industrial and oil exporting facilities. Mr. Ansary moved to United States quietly and kept low key profile for a couple of years until he started his activities in 1982 by starting an investment consultant company named Parman Capital Group. Mr. Hassan-Ali Mehran the former Iranian National Bank director, was his partner in this business with $5 million initial investment.
A few years later In 1987, Parman Group took over "Banco di Caribe" with total asset of about $500 million. And a bit later Mr. Ansary also became the biggest shareholder in Texas-based National Oilwell Inc which had close to $3 billion revenue in year 2007. Later on, National Oilwell Inc was merged with IRI International Corp. which Mr. Ansary and family (Hushang, Shahla, Nina and Nader Ansary) own over 90% of its shares currently. A look at some of National Oilwell trades with the symbol of NOV (NYSE) indicates the volume of wealth which is toyed with by Mr. Ansary in stock market in recent years:
Trading Date -- Name -- Title -- Type Shares -- Traded Price
09/02/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 80,000 $19.17
09/05/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 220,000 $19.30
09/08/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 58,000 $19.65
09/24/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 50,000 $19.00
11/07/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 15,000 $0.00
11/07/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 30,000 $0.00
12/04/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 100,000 $20.59
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 125,000 $0.00
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 40,000 $0.00
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 15,000 $0.00
12/23/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 20,000 $0.00
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 50,000 $32.15
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 18,700 $32.20
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 1,300 $32.21
09/21/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 30,000 $32.00
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 3,900 $32.51
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 8,600 $32.54
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 5,300 $32.55
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 13,600 $32.56
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 11,200 $32.57
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 5,200 $32.58
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 500 $32.59
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 1,700 $32.60
05/05/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 250,000 $27.01
06/21/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 150,000 $30.31
Stewart & Stevenson LLC is another oil related company of Mr. Ansary with close to $1 billion in revenue in year 2006. There is a long list of huge investments and "charity" works ($15 million grant to Weill Cornell Medical College for stem cell research is one of them) in variety of fields in United States which range from education to medial centers, to highly specialized services in oil industry and....etc... etc... Mr. Ansary is also a trustee for Asia Society, a non-profit institution which has been founded by and in operation under leadership of Rockefellers since 1956.
Ansary family have been very good friends with Bush Family since the time they moved to United States and resided in Texas in year 1979. The friendship is so close that at this point, Mr. Ansary is CEO of Bush family trust fund while continuing to maintain very close relationship. Mr. Ansary has also had many generous contributions to presidential campaign for George Bush sr., George Bush jr. and other Republican Party candidates for the House and Senate.
In most of these investments, we can see some familiar names of American famous politicians as Mr. Ansary's partners. Mr. Ansary has a daughter, Nina, and a son, Nader, who both have been given extensive amount of wealth and investment by their good father! Nina Ansary is also a share holder in some of the companies belonging to her father and at the same time running a political organization in the name of Iranians in United States!
The name of this political organization is "Iranian American Political Action Committee" (IAPAC) which in their website declare their mission as follows:
· To support and promote the election of candidates for federal, state and local office, regardless of party affiliation who are attuned to the domestic needs and issues of the Iranian American community
· To support and promote Iranian American candidates for public office
· To support and advance legislation as it affects the concerns of the Iranian American community
· To encourage Iranian Americans to actively participate in the American electoral process
Under FAQ, they make it clear to have no affiliation with Islamic Republic regime and they do not take any position towards US-Iranian relation because it creates division in Iranian community. According to same document, the reason for creating "Iranian-American PAC" is to fill the vacuum of Iranians achievements in the political arena of the United States through financial contributions and supporting Iranian candidates as "The reality of the American political system is that it is dependent on financial contributions".
In another part regarding 2008 US presidential candidates we read:
"IAPAC is a registered bipartisan political action committee that contributes to candidates for public office. IAPAC focuses exclusively on domestic policy issues, such as civil liberties and immigration, and encourages Americans of Iranian descent to actively participate in civic affairs. As a bipartisan organization, IAPAC does not endorse one presidential candidate over another. Instead it focuses on providing information concerning candidate positions on relevant issues affecting the Iranian American community and on harnessing community efforts to support candidates of their own choosing."
In the news section we read: "IAPAC Trustee to Serve as National Finance Chair for Clinton Campaign".
IAPAC Trustee is no one other than Mr. Hassan Namazee who has been also working with John Kerry in 2004 presidential campaign and during President Clinton, he was nominated to become ambassador of United States in Argentina but was declined by the Senate. In year 2004 and during his controversial quarrel with SMCCDI and Mr. Pirooznia, an article appeared in FrontPage Magazine about Mr. Namazee which included some information regarding his connections to different political organizations and lobbying groups. In a part of that article we read:
"Nemazee is an influential figure with many friends in high places in groups such as the American-Iranian Council (AIC), the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and the Iranian-American Bar Association (IABA). Nemazee’s name is also well known in Democratic Party circles. He was a prominent contributor to Bob Torricelli’s New Jersey Senate campaign. The multimillionaire entrepreneur also contributed $50,000 to his friend Al Gore’s Recount Fund (and $250,000 to the Gore campaign), $60,000 to Bill Clinton’s legal defense fund, and over $150,000 to the Democratic National Committee."
In the year 2004, in an article which was published in Iranian.com, Ladan Afrasiabi, a commissioner in "Commission on Globalization" whose positions towards Islamic Republic is close to AIC, wrote:
"IAPAC -- the Iranian American Political Action Committee -- came to existence in 2003 following what seemed to be more of a "coup" inside American Iranian Council, when three of AIC board members, Hassan Nemazee, Akbar Ghahari and Faraj Aaalei collectively resigned from AIC and formed this well funded organization. Tapping into the financial and intellectual wealth of successful Iranians in the US and banking on their political ambitions, IAPAC is claiming to be the voice of the Iranian American diaspora in the US."
As we can see in IAPAC website, board of directors include Mr. Nemazee and also Mrs Nina Ansary, daughter of Hushang Ansary with a lot of stake in Ansary foundation and other companies belonging to Ansary family. Mr Nemazee and Hushang Ansary along with Henry Kissinger are in Asia Society which is an organization created by Rockefellers who also is founder of Trilateral Commission, a world economic entity. Many high ranking politicians from all over the world have been or still are a member of. The list of membership in Trilateral Commission includes both President Carter and President George Bush sr. who used to be head of CIA for a few years before he was fired by Jimmy Carter in 1977 along with a group of a few hundred people who were suspected of being involved in “Watergate scandal”. George Bush sr. was well known among his fellow party members as an extremist and too partisan so that this matter almost caused him to be rejected as Presidential candidate of the party even though he was a member of “world elite” society.
During his candidacy, President Bush sr. was generously supported by his old friend, Mr. Hushang Ansary, his wife and Ansary foundation. Contributions of Mr. Hushang Ansary to Republican party is not limited to Bush sr. as he has made generous contributions for other members of Bush Family. A look at a few item in one of the lists of Mr. Ansary’s contributions may help us understand how wealthy this former minister, ambassador and CEO, under previous Iranian regime is while many other former Iranian officials were either killed or are living a very ordinary life!
See list here:
//www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=Hushang
And here:
//www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=HUSHANG
And here for more recent ones: //www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=HUSHANG
According to this source, campaign contributions of Mr. Hushang Ansary for G.W. Bush in 2004 and Nina Ansary in 2008 was 100,000 dollars each under bundlers: //www.whitehouseforsale.org/index.cfm
“Ansary, a member of the National Finance Committee of the Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign, gave $270,000 to the Republican National Committee, according to federal filings.”
And Mrs. Ansary’s recent contributions:
//www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...y&first=Shahla
Nina Ansary’s contributions:
//www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...ary&first=nina
Nader Ansary’s contributions:
//www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...t=Ansary&st=CA
Frank C. Carlucci who was in board of directors of IRI international corp., one of Ansary’s companies, in his page writes about Hushang Ansary’s campaign contributions:
“Ansary left the country during the turmoil. (Crackdown on Corruption in Iran Could Ensnarl Shah. By By Jonothan C. Randal. The Washington Post, Nov 19, 1978.) Ansary donated at least $100,000 to the Republican National Committee in 1988. “
As we can see, Mr. Asnary, after more than 20 years of end to previous regime in Iran, is still directed as “honorable ambassador” while the symbol of the regime which Mr. Ansary was its “ambassador”, the late Shah himself, was subject of despicable maltreatments and disrespect by Americans and their government and while their propaganda had filled the world with ridiculous exaggerations about late Shah’s wealth. Here it is! Mr. Ansary, a “philanthropist” in United States, takes good care of everything for American friends!
It is very obvious that Mr. Ansary left Iran in 1978 with quite a bit of money in his “pocket” to be able to start his investments in 1982 with a $5 million dollar company and escalate it quickly to hundreds of million dollars, which recently have reached to multi billion dollars! Mr. Ansary’s hobby these days, on the side of “charity work” for his country, the United States of America, and playing with money in stock market, is buying “Islamic artifacts” while his wife Shahla, a housewife, and a close friend of first lady of United States, enjoys a good game of golf with Mrs. Laura Bush whenever she is in Texas. Shahla Ansary apparently is Mr. Ansary’s second wife. His first wife was Mariam Panahi whose father was minister of labor in Iran before he died in 1954. Mariam Panahi’s brother, Faradj who studied in Georgetown U in 1967, was a good friend of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and he was Mr. Pahani’s “frequent guest”. This was the same year when Hushang Ansary was appointed as ambassador to US. Goli Ameri (Yazdi) got her approval for the position that she was appointed to by President G.W Bush in last November and was sworn in as assistant to secretary of state of United States for educational and cultural affairs.
Goli Ameri is an Iranina-American of republican party who entered major political arena in 2004 through her first bid for congress in which she was defeated by rival candidate from democratic party. She had some minor political positions previously and her campaign for congress was supported by Nina Ansary, the executive of Ansary foundation and daughter of Hushang Ansary. Nina Ansary is mainly a supporter of Democratic Party of United States but sometimes supports some Republican candidates too. She has contributed to GW Bush campaign funds as well as Alfonse M D'Amato of Republican party. Alfonse M D'Amato was accused by some political campaign groups that his positions were influenced towards certain bills and normalization of relation with Islamic Republic and that's how he has been receiving some unusually higher amounts of funding form certain political groups which are active in the same direction. Alfonse M D'Amato of course has denied this and so did Mr. Hushang Ansary who was also accused by same people.
Quote:
"The state Democratic Committee has also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission charging that Mr. D'Amato violated election laws by using his two state committees -- Renew New York and Renew New York/Bond Act -- to finance what they contend is a promotional campaign for him. The committees have spent nearly $1.5 million for television advertisements featuring Mr. D'Amato and his family talking about his record and mentioning his support for the bond act. "Mr. D'Amato says that his committees promote the bond act, not himself. "The complaint also says that Mr. D'Amato's use of state committees allows him to skirt Federal contribution limits, which are lower than state limits, citing a $25,000 contribution to Mr. D'Amato's committee by Hushang Ansary, a former Iranian finance minister who has advocated normalizing relations with Iran. Mr. Ansary, who maintains a house on Long Island, has said that he supports the bond act and that his donation was not intended to influence Mr. D'Amato."
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Bank list
by Kaveman (not verified) on Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:43 AM PDTanyone ever see this '79 Bank withdrawl list?
Kayhan had a photo of it in the 1970s; I saw the paper in the NY Public Library archives once....cant believe a scan is not on the net?
Bidding and acquisition process
by KavehV (not verified) on Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:33 AM PDTBabak,
The irony in your paragraph starting with: "So let me enlighten you…." is quite amusing. Seriously, I can not tell if you are trying to describe a corrupt bidding process, or humoring us with your description of the bidding process in US corporations and government agencies!
What you describe in that paragraph, along with some twists, is more or less, the process description of corporate and government acquisitions and supply chain. Not only there is nothing illegal about it, they are practiced policies in just about everywhere.
For example, to have weeks and months of "behind closed door" meetings with prospective suppliers/partners before issuing the RFPs is normal (called pre-solicitation). In many cases the choice is obvious before the final review process. In most cases you welcome personal contacts and make suggestions and recommendations on proposal writing. You got to know if the company has the capabilities they claim and if you can get along with their executives "due diligence"!?! You pick the ones that best suit your needs and ask them to highlight their specific capabilities that you need in their proposal. Narrow down the numbers to a small group and decide which is the best for the job, often with very narrow margins.
Common sense! The only thing corrupt about it is your arbitrary use of the term, and like anything else, if you choose to corrupt it, there are plenty of chances.
You take established and accepted guidelines, trivialize them, and then mock the process. Which brings me to my point, this attitude was the basis of the "corruption" epidemic in the late 70's. Arbitrary accusations, personal opinions and total ignorance of the laws that accused any sign of wealth to be a corrupt entity, or person. Always need "due diligence" :-)
Now the other point about corruption and cultural issue. I admit using the word culture is not the most accurate term. Some examples; when mullahs use public funds for useless Islamist waste projects (and there are many many these days), it is CORRUPTION. When poor peasants of 1960's would spend the interest free agricultural loans to take their family to Haj, or Imam Reza Ziarat, instead of buying farm machinary and increased production, it was CORRUPTION. In a broader sense, the rampant behavior of every business owner to swindle you out of a few dollars is CORRUPTION, cultural, or otherwise.
The rest about the "country will pay for it…." is just a trivialized rant that is not even close. You might as well advocate housing for the homeless.
To KavehV: I am not quite
by babak_mo (not verified) on Wed Apr 02, 2008 08:38 AM PDTTo KavehV:
I am not quite sure what you mean by "this is a cultural issue". You've written pages and pages about the cultural aspects of corruption. It's a lot of nice words, but that's all it is.
and then you say the following:
"The practice of accepting monetary "gift" on the part of corrupt official, in exchange for signing the contract, or accepting the bid does not necessarily produce an inferior bid, as you claim. These contracts have to be reviewed on individual basis, in order to determine the relative strength of each bid, and even then this is not an easy task in any environment"
so let me enlighten you on how a bidding process can be and usually IS manipulated in corrupt countries and who ultimately pays the price. The corruption starts long before there is even a concept of a bid or RFP. The bid itself is just paperwork and is meant for justifying their final selection if it comes to any form of scrutiny. There are months of behind the door negotiations before a RFP is send out and any bid is received. In a corrupt environment, you've already made your decison on who the winner should be and so you issue a document that makes that certain buyer look favorable. So if company X is strong in a number of areas, these strengths are all called out specifically as requirements in the RFP. Again, in a corrupt environment, the RFP process is simply to cover your behind if it comes to any kind of outside scrutiny. In simple terms, the RFP and all the documentation is just formality
The selection process typically goes through a committee or a single person and since the paperwork backs up the decision, we're all good and safe and ofcourse we've done our "due diligence" :-)
Now the country pays for it in a number of ways. A project could be too long which means the benefits may never be seen by the people. A project could have useless aspects which the people have to pay for. The project could cost more, and take a guess where that money comes from ..... or the project could lock up the buyer into multiple other useless projects by the same bidder (Dow Chemical)since they are the incumbent.
Thank you for your responses
by Sam (not verified) on Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:42 PM PDTThank you for your responses Anonymous8 and KavehV, I need to digest and compare the info you have provided me with what I had in mind previously...
This river obviously runs deep...
Thanks again.
Iran, corruption and 1979
by KavehV (not verified) on Mon Mar 31, 2008 09:17 PM PDTSam,
This is a very interesting topic and I am, by no means, an expert on this subject. But, based on personal observations I can offer my views, and with limited time. There are a couple of things that comes to my mind when I hear about "corruption" and Iran:
First, the idea of corruption in the late 70's, in Iran, meant different things to different people. To us (friends and relatives), corruption meant the illegal accumulation of wealth by many, who abused their career and social standings. Many, or the most visible cases, were associated with the government and the court (Darbar). At the same time, many were not able to differentiate between legal and illegal cases of the wealthy, other than arbitrary personal observations, rumors, or accusations. In many cases, there were no specific laws that would prohibit or regulate questionable sources of income, or "shady deals".
To other parts of the society, especially the traditional religious population, most signs of western culture such as women's emancipation and the changing social structure along with all the ensuing effects of economic development of the society meant only one thing: "CORRUPTION". Therefore, "corruption" became an Islamic slogan and big propaganda. The real negative impact of this slogan, aside from looting property and murdering people in the name of Allah and "corruption" has been the loathsome attitudes and feelings toward wealth and wealth producing which impeded the economic development of the society even more.
Second, which is related to the first point, but with a more profound historical background. This is a common problem in the developing world and is not limited to Iran (and I am inadequately describing it as): low industrial/development aptitude or potential. For example, and it may help to think of the world 30 years ago, many times when funds and resources were available to local organizations and groups of people in Iran (or just about any developing country) for economic development, the end result was squandering of the resources. Local leaders, organizers and others with access to these resources, through their ignorance, short sightedness, cultural or religious disability, or general lack of initiative were unable to utilize these resources for the intended developments. The result was, always, the rapid disappearance of the funds through out right theft, illegal or unauthorized expenditures. This is probably the most dominant issue, as it relates to corruption, throughout the developing world and is common everywhere.
Sam: corruption works exactly the same way everywhere
by Anonymous8 (not verified) on Mon Mar 31, 2008 05:28 PM PDTIf you have kissed the right behind and kept your mouth shut (like most Pahlavi cronies), were willing to be a cheerleader for you mafia don, you got to be in charge of "managing" the "contracts" and "namayendegis" which is nothing more than trading favors with foreign companies or your own blood-sucking rivals in other parts of the government.
It's exactly the same in the US. Bush got every single cent he owns because of his father's connections with powerful people like Saudi Oil interests and Latin American elite. Now that he's President he's funnelling public money in the form of military spending and no-bid government contracts to Republican cronies.
Can someone enlighten me/us
by Sam (not verified) on Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:15 AM PDTCan someone enlighten me/us on how corruption works in other countries of the world vs Iran.
As I have heard it has ALWAYS been prevalent in Iran in different forms and formats (bribery, payoffs, kick backs) as mentioned here.
I was born post revolution.
Lets get the facts right
by KavehV (not verified) on Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:39 PM PDTBabak,
First of all, I have not condoned any of the pre-79 corruption. You may read my post again, your passion is misguided. This is a cultural issue and mostly resides within modern Iranian culture. There was less of it during Pahlavis because of the "westward" tendencies of the system that wanted to integrate a western style industrial economic system in Iran. In theory, the system; government and the law, discouraged traditional (cultural and business) practices that were prone to corruption. In practice, the country was exposed to traditional AND western type of corruption, and still is today.
The practice of accepting monetary "gift" on the part of corrupt official, in exchange for signing the contract, or accepting the bid does not necessarily produce an inferior bid, as you claim. These contracts have to be reviewed on individual basis, in order to determine the relative strength of each bid, and even then this is not an easy task in any environment.
Furthermore, given the economic growth, stability and security of Iran, in 70's, all the reputable multinational technology companies were participating in competitive bids in Iran which minimized any chances for inferior bids. If Mitsubishi Chemical and Dow Chemical were bidding for a billion dollar construction of a petrochemical plant in Iran, how do you determine which has the inferior bid ? Is the willingness (or demand) of the (corrupt) local official to accept "gifts" enough to call it an inferior bid ? Of course not, need "due diligence" !
Let me repeat again; in these cases the "gift" money flowing into the pockets of the corrupt government officials was NOT Iranian national wealth! It came from foreign contractors and not Iranian people. If in some cases the project cost was slightly more than it should have been, you can not blame corruption alone (basic project management). There are many many factors involved so you got to do your "due diligence"! Ultimately, these were investments in the future of the country that would create jobs, income and higher standard of living for all, and by no means considered to be a loss, even if some happened ot be on the expensive side.
FYI, US president has been making $400K since 2001.
Let's set some facts straight
by Babak_mo (not verified) on Sun Mar 30, 2008 07:19 PM PDTTo KavehV .... apparently after 30 years, you yourself haven't learned what corruption means and who pays for it. First off, the fact that you have to give a gift is evidence that your bid is not competitive. So you are wrong if you think the people of iran don't pay for it and its just the employees and shareholders that pay the price. They pay for it indirectly by accepting inferior bids or contracts which ultimately comes out of the country's budget. The second point is that there is a big difference between a private company accepting "gifts", versus a state owned entity which employs public servants whose sole purpose is to serve the country. Afterall, if their purpose is to make money, they should go into the private sector.
To Jamshid: there is nothing wrong with being a public servant and being rich, but explain to me how a government employee can leave the country with 500 millon, heck, or even 50 million ...the president of United States earns approximately $200,000 in base salary. This is less than some of Director level positions in high-tech companies. Yet, somehow we should believe that Ansari made his fortune in honest ways.
To Aref: I don't see what your value add is in this discussion. Make your own points and some quoting passages from the original post
Not all was illegal pre-1979
by KavehV (not verified) on Sun Mar 30, 2008 03:50 PM PDTAfter 30 years so many people have still not realized some basic facts about the corruption before revolution. Most of the pre-1979 government officials who accumulated their wealth were through kick-backs from foreign corporations and conglomerates. So this money actually belongs to the employees and stock holders of the foreign companies than "the people of Iran". This was quite normal for the competing foreign companies to court executives and "decision makers" within various governmental ministries and agencies (i.e. NIOC) for the purpose of winning multi-billion dollar contracts in Iran. Unfortunately, this meant spending a few million dollars to buy "gifts", or just kick-backs for the decision making officials in Iran. This was not plundering of national wealth, or Iranian money!
The mullahs were the ones who took this a few steps further by plundering of the national wealth for themselves and their lackeys. Mullahs directly siphoned wealth out of nation's coffers, as they rarely had competing foreign companies willing to invest in Iran and pay kick-backs to mullahs. What is worse, is that these mullahs accumulated wealth during economic decline of Iran and during a bloody war, all of which was their making.
Most of the pre-1979 "stealing" was done through these kick-backs (many of which were legal) by foreign companies, but there were also a significant amount of money (business loans belonging to national banks) left the country in the 2-3 years prior to revolution. This was a clear case of fraud, in which, many companies (their individual executives) transferred their government loans to American and European accounts. This was all revealed within the first couple of years of the revolution when the revolutionary government took over the operation of these businesses and realized they are heavily in red. This was strictly the aftermath of the instability of the revolution.
capital and nationalities
by markux (not verified) on Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:21 PM PDTCapital has no nationality and greed has no shame. When I look at Iran and Iranian poor today I see no change in their lives, promises unfulfilled. That's universal, Pick any country including the United State, the bottom layer does not even have the essential part of life, relative to their national wealth. In some countries they don't even have running water. Even in the poorest countries on this God forsaken planet, there are rich people beyond limit and poor that are living in dirt. Bill Gates sell expensive software and starts a charity to promote his name and everyone cheers. And we have our Ansary's who steals money from the people, it is stealing, and build himself wealth beyond measure and hangs out with the other rich folks. Nothing has change. Capital is faceless, without nation. and the religious figures keep on fooling the multitude.
Ansari's did well but.....
by mahmoudg on Sat Mar 29, 2008 09:13 PM PDTAnsari's have done well, and I think some where he has also partnered with Henry Kissinger on some vacation properties in the Virgin Islands, if memory serves me right. Ansari has always had a sharp astute economic mind from the time of his business dealings in Japan all the way to the time when he took over the chairmanship of the NIOC after Dr. Eqbal's death, and he has deservedly made his fortune. But what I cannot digest is how he has let himself be involved with the likes of Goli Ameri (Yazdi) when he must have known about her dubious past and alleged financial ties to the Islamic Republic and her families support for the revolution and Anti American sentiments. You may tell me that many Iranians had these sentiments at the time of the revolution, but none are running for sensitive offices in America both in the public and private sector such as the Southern California Edison. I would have expected Mr. Ansari's good judgements to have distanced him for the likes of Ameri (Yazdi) and her family.
Re: KavehP
by jamshid on Sat Mar 29, 2008 07:00 PM PDTThank you for your response.
I don't see anything wrong with being a public servant and being rich too. Why (to us Iranians) it means that one must be a "thief" in order to be rich? Is Bush a thief? There are many government officials in the Japanese governments that are rich beyond comprehension, more than Ansari could even dream in the previous regime, but they are not considered thieves.
I don't care about Ansari. I really don't. It is the mentality I described above that I am questioning. If Ansari was a thief, I'd like to known when and from whom did he steal? If he became rich through making smart deals because he had inside information, what's wrong with that?
However, advocating normalization of relations with the IRI is something else. That is equivalent to legitimizing this barbaric regime. Only traitors do that. Is there any evidence I could read or see that shows Ansari is an advocate of normalization of relations with the IRI? I would be interested. Thanks.
the picture above
by fashion police (not verified) on Sat Mar 29, 2008 06:15 PM PDTI think if i had $500+ million assests, I would dress better than that, where did she get that jacket anyway, goodwill?
Sorry, but my comment is a deserving match for the article if you think well about it.
Cheers
Fred, "jeeb chon bank"...
by ashena (not verified) on Sat Mar 29, 2008 01:35 PM PDTFred, "jeeb chon bank"... hadn't heard that one, funny...lol.
OK, let's say he took the money...(obvoiusly it needs to be proved) otherwise anyone can accuse any other person of having taken $$$$$ if they have a 'khoordeh-boordeh' with them!
Accusations are as free flowing as water down a hill.
This one seems like it could be accurate... but what are we to do about it?
Do you think he'd give me my share if I went to him and said: "Mr. Ansary please give me back my share of the money you took out of the country when you left Iran"!
What would my share be anyway? Would I even have a share, or would that belong to my less priviledged hamvatrans who are living in poverty.
Maybe I could play Robin Hood and take it from the likes of him and send it back to the real people to whom it belongs in Iran!
The thing is if he did take the money, (I'm trying to be fair) he did invest and increase it x fold so he has worked to increase the initial sum... how much do I take and how much do I leave for him??
So many questions and so little time!!
Help me to figure this out someone!
Korians
by Dariush (not verified) on Sat Mar 29, 2008 01:08 PM PDTSohrab, I accept everything you wrote and belive it is true, but I don't thing the picture you have posted from Ansari and his wife are Iranians. They seem to be a Korian couple!!! Thanks for the info. Keep up the good work!
jamshid
by Dariush (not verified) on Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:53 PM PDTJamshid, dude, you are all over this site and as usual denying the facts. I have been trying to make you see the truth in another posting (Rez Topol/Koochoolo's interview) from many angles, but you are still hiding in your shell like a turtle and denying the truth!!! Here, more evidence that you were asking for! It is not to hard to understand, If you just knew the simple math and were a little fair. You keep denying the truth and keep running in circle and keep dreaming!!! Your Body, Dariush
Great entertainment
by Aref (not verified) on Sat Mar 29, 2008 08:38 AM PDTVery well written! Thank you for the great entertainment. Nothing better then a good conspericy theory to start the day.
“As we can see in IAPAC website, board of directors include Mr. Nemazee and also Mrs Nina Ansary, daughter of Hushang Ansary with a lot of stake in Ansary foundation and other companies belonging to Ansary family. Mr Nemazee and Hushang Ansary along with Henry Kissinger are in Asia Society which is an organization created by Rockefellers who also is founder of Trilateral Commission, a world economic entity. ….”
Keep up the good work and keep an eye out for those black helicopters. I heard that is what the Trilateral Commission uses to keep an eye on us unruly citizens.
Jamshid.....I like most of
by KavehP (not verified) on Sat Mar 29, 2008 08:23 AM PDTJamshid.....I like most of what you write, but I think you got the wrong end of the stick here.........
The point about Ansari, is that he was chairman of NIOC and held many ministerial positions. How can a public servant get his hand on $5 million (in 1978 value) let alone the $500 million mentioned in the infamous central bank list, without dubious means.
Second point about Ansari, is that he actually advocates normalising relations with IRI. how can a man with his past positons actually do that?
I am not a Pahlavi basher, far from it......but Ansari is one of the reasons that Iran is the way it is today. he sold out Iran and the shah.........
Where is the summary?
by irannostalgia.com on Sat Mar 29, 2008 08:22 AM PDTAn article this long needs to have an introductory paragraph more or less telling us what to expect. I started reading and got tired not knowing where it was gonna go or if it would interest me.
So this short, kachal, bald iranian guy Ansari tookout money, which I assume he stole and started his businesses in the US with 2.5 Millon dollars!! Well, this is what I was saying all along when they tell me Iranians are successful in the US. If you were starting with 2.5 Millon dollars of shady origin, I'm sure you would do well as well. Hey you might find a tall girlfirend like this kachaloo did!!
//www.irannostalgia.com
irannostalgia.com
The missing Japanese wife
by Fred on Sat Mar 29, 2008 04:36 AM PDTFor what ever it is worth, somewhere along his matrimonial odyssey there is a Japanese wife as well, ergo the old (Chinese accented) joke about Ansari, jeeb chon bank.
Robin Hood
by Ari Siletz on Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:25 PM PDTI'm not sure what the article is arguing.
The tone seems accusing. But the contents make it read like a Robin Hood story where the Ansarys are using stolen (allegedly) money to:
Support and promote the election of candidates for federal, state and local office, regardless of party affiliation who are attuned to the domestic needs and issues of the Iranian American community ·
Support and promote Iranian American candidates for public office ·
Support and advance legislation as it affects the concerns of the Iranian American community ·
Encourage Iranian Americans to actively participate in the American electoral process
I met him in Tehran around 1969
by AnonymousMe (not verified) on Fri Mar 28, 2008 06:12 PM PDTI met Mr. Ansari in Tehran around 1969 when I was an Economic major at Tehran University. He did not impress any of the students in my class/group.
Many Iranians brought money to the U.S. and Europe including Ansari family. How do you think 41% of Beverly Hills houses are owned by Iranians many of whom purchased their properties with the money which they brought to the U.S.
Mr. Ansari mis-managed the Pahlavi money, but he did well on his own money.
This write up is copy and paste of bunch of true and some un-true stories.
In general, Iranians are namak nashnas.
Explain...
by jamshid on Fri Mar 28, 2008 05:22 PM PDTFarrokh: Explain how did Ansari "sold his soul for money to anybody."
Miz-abdol-azim khaneh Ghareeb: Please explain what is your evidence that Ansari embezled money in Iran? Many became rich during the previous regime. Explain why anyone who became rich in those times was automatically a thief.
It gives many of us a "special" pleasure, a kick, to hate anything "pahlavi". But facts based on hatred are not the same than facts based on evidence.
That "special" pleasure drove many of the revolutionaries to quickly execute the "rejaal" of the previous regime, most of them quite innocent.
Many crowds watched the pictures of those executed with a bullet in their head in the newspapers and with an ear to ear smile, and while grinding their teeth with that same "special" pleasure, said to the executed things like, ahaan, khoob shod, becheshin, haal kardam, noosheh joonetoon, etc. They got a "kick" and a feeling of satisfaction. Those crowds are still paying the price today after some 30 years.
You seem to be of the same type than those crowds.
Same crime as many, many other iranians did inside iran
by Homayun (not verified) on Fri Mar 28, 2008 05:06 PM PDTWhy is this a surprize? It shouldn't be. When a country is in turmoil like Iran was in 1979, what do you expect to see?? Weren't there 100's of thoiusands of other regular iranians who did the same, only with little order of magnitude??
I mean people do take (mis)advantage in their own benefit, don't they?? And finally, why do we need to focus on someone who apperantly made a crime 30 years ago, while right now, the current regime is doing maybe much more worse!!
As Farokh said, what's the point! the country Iran is gone anyway...the only hope is for the future generations to save its face again..
Saints and Angels!
by Pissed Off (not verified) on Fri Mar 28, 2008 04:58 PM PDTOf course, all those saints and angels running IRI only care about Iran and do not give a damn about money!
To Jamshid
by Miz-abdol-azim khaneh Ghareeb (not verified) on Fri Mar 28, 2008 03:50 PM PDTThe author did not "trash" Ansari family as you interpreted, he gave us an example of hypocracy among Iranians that left Iran and act as if they gained that wealth in this country, instead of embezlement out of Iran.
In 1980 there was an article in Dallas Morning News about Ansari and title was something like "From Rag to Riches" and went on details of how he came to USA empty handed and made his fortune in USA? What a bullshit that article was to assume someone can earn so much in one year. And funnier than that was he also had a chain of cafe and bakery in Dallas area, perhaps as a decoy!
It is human nature!
Ingrained habits are hard to break
by sz (not verified) on Fri Mar 28, 2008 03:06 PM PDTSome years back from his resort in St. Marteen where he is much beloved by the locals Ansary had an interesting email exchange with Jahansha Javid. It is good to know he has kept up and passed along his knack for none discriminating ingratiation habits to family, associates and pacs alike.
Venting off frustrations?
by Ali (not verified) on Fri Mar 28, 2008 03:03 PM PDTFarrokh joon
By "the most notorious criminal on Earth", you mean the Supreme leader Ali Khamneii or his predecessor?
Don't you think you are exaggerating and just venting off your personal frustrations by calling "a few million Americans" criminals and corrupt?
American people on the average are very decent hard-working family oriented people, of course in every nation you can find vermins and corrupt people as we did among the turbaned ruling families and their cohorts in Iran.
The point!?
by farokh2000 on Fri Mar 28, 2008 02:45 PM PDTI guess the point he is trying to make is that there are some Iranians who would sell out their souls for money to anybody, even the most notorious criminal on Earth.
I think you can find that in a few million Americans as well.