Shahram Jazayeri

Jazayeri was arrested in 2001 while boarding a commercial flight to the United Arab Emirates, when he was initially prosecuted for influence peddling and providing fake passport for an Afghan citizen.[3] Charges against him included: bribery totaling 38 billion rials ($4.75 million), fraud to obtain loans amounting to 811 billion rials ($101 million), and setting up bogus companies.[5] On 18 November 2002, Jazayeri was sentenced to 27 years of imprisonment.[6] In September 2004, the supreme court partially overturned the conviction[7] and sent back his case to the lower court awaiting trial.[8] The court of appeal in 2008, reduced his sentence to 14 years and ruled that he must pay $145 million to the Iranian government, including $48 million to the state-owned Bank Melli Iran.[2]

In 2007, an Iranian newspaper reported that, unlike ordinary prisoners in Iran, Jazayeri had access to a laptop and two mobile phones and is living in luxury in prison and continued his business works overseas.[9]

Jazayeri escaped from guards during a transfer on 20 February 2007, and reportedly fled the country afterwards.[1] He was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence on 18 March 2007, in "one of the countries on the Persian Gulf".[10] Iranian media reported that four senior officials in the judicial system were fired for his escape.[2]

He was released on 3 October 2014.[11] Jazayeri was detained again in Mashhad on 6 August 2016, charged with "disturbing public peace."[12] On 29 July 2018, he was once again arrested while hidden in a consignment of lentils in an attempt to illegally cross the Bazargan border. A prosecutor said he may face a "relatively long-term imprisonment" in January 2019.[13][14]