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More Than $200,000 Stolen From Home Of Iranian Lawmaker


File photo - Taqi Kabiri represents Khoy in Iran's parliament and now has to explain why he had more than $200,000 at home.
File photo - Taqi Kabiri represents Khoy in Iran's parliament and now has to explain why he had more than $200,000 at home.

More than 200,000 dollars was stolen from the home of a member of Iran’s parliament representing the city of Khoy, leading to criticism as to how a lawmaker can have so much cash in a country suffering from economic crisis and rising poverty.

Some news agencies in Iran put the amount at 200,000 in US dollars and around $40,000 in Iranian currency. But one “informed source” told ILNA news website the amount was actually 250,000 euros or around $275,000.

Javan newspaper, close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, has criticized the lawmaker Taqi Kabiri and questioned the motives why someone would keep so much cash at home.

Another member of parliament from a nearby city has said what was stolen was gold, not cash, but news agencies have not mentioned any gold.

Some Iranians have tweeted that the lawmaker, much like the burglar should answer the courts as to how he has amassed such wealth and why he kept it at home. Kabiri is a member of parliament’s economic commission.

Kabiri has a doctorate in Quranic sciences and has been a vocal critic of the rising value of foreign currencies in Iran.

Other Iranians on Twitter have published photos of Kabiri and other hardliner lawmakers burning the text of Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement in a parliamentary session as a sign of protest to any concessions to the United States.

Another issue citizens have brought up on social media is a regulation announced by Iran’s Central Bank two years ago which prohibits keeping more than 10,000 euros at home. To keep more than the allowed amount, a citizen must obtain a permit. It is not clear if the lawmaker had such a waiver.

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