Iran Bans Former Central Bank Governor Seif From Leaving Country

(Bloomberg) -- Iran’s former Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif, who’s under investigation, has been banned from traveling abroad, state-run Tasnim news agency reported, citing a judiciary official.

“The case is under investigation as there are other employees from the central bank and beyond who have accusations against them,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said. “This person is banned from leaving the country.”

Seif, who headed the central bank for five years, was replaced by Abdolnaser Hemmati in July. He oversaw a period of economic growth after sanctions on Iran were temporarily removed under the 2015 nuclear deal. Saif also cracked down on illegal credit institutions, many of which collapsed or had to be bailed out by the government.

But he was criticized by President Hassan Rouhani’s political opponents for failing to stem a drop in the value of the rial. Judiciary officials announced earlier this month that the former central banker was under investigation for corruption in the currency market, and that some of the bank’s deputies had been arrested.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Dubai at lnasseri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Shaji Mathew, Christopher Elser

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