A court in Iran has upheld a municipality's decision to demolish an illegally built luxurious mansion owned by the son-in-law of the secretary of the powerful Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani's son-in-law, Hassan Mir Mohammad Ali, is accused of land grabbing and illegally building villas and mansions in posh areas of the capital city Tehran.
The verdict against Mir Mohammad Ali is subject to appeal, an official at IACJ told the IRGC-run news agency, Tasnim.
Mir Mohammad Ali's majestic mansion made the headlines last year, after a renowned "whistleblower" on municipal corruption, Yashar Soltani, twitted, "Mr. Shamkhani, are you aware of the illegal act of your son-in-law who is the owner of a property in Lavasan?"
The tweet triggered a series of reports on Shamkhani's son-in-law and his activities.
Several Iranian websites, including Didgah-e Now, disclosed on April 23, 2018, that the illegal construction activity in Lavasan (dubbed as Tehran's Beverly Hills) had taken place under the name of Seyyed Mohammad-Taha Mir-Mohammad-Ali, who is a major creditor of the semi-bankrupted Caspian Credit Institute.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Seyyed Mohammad-Taha Mir-Mohammad-Ali was, in fact, the three-year-old grandson of Ali Shamkhani. Apparently, the Shamkhani /Mir Mohammad Ali family had used the three-year-old boy's ID to do business.
Furthermore, another "whistleblower," Seyyed Mehdi Sadrolsadati, who is a clergyman, published posts on his Instagram account implicating Shamkhani, his wife and other close relatives with a series of corrupt business deals, including numerous construction projects.
Seyyed Mehdi Sadrolsadati claimed that a residential complex in the upper-class Fereshteh avenue, in Tehran, belongs to Shamkhani's wife, Azarmidokht Tabatabatei.
According to the whistleblower cleric, the residential complex's value is more than ten trillion rials (approximately $230 million).