Iran arrests 48 in embezzlement scandal

The Iranian prosecutor general said here on Tuesday that Iran's judiciary has arrested 48 people so far in connection with the embezzlement scandal, the English language satellite Press TV reported. Prosecutor general Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said that "in the past three months, more than 80 people have been investigated as suspects in this case." "Out of those investigated, 48 (people) were taken into temporary custody," he was quoted as saying. The prosecutor general said Tuesday that a relative of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's aid was arrested over an embezzlement scandal. Mohseni-Ejei, confirmed the arrest of a relative of Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, without elaboration. He added that investigations are ongoing. According to local media reports, nearly 2.6 billion U.S. dollars was swindled out of several Iranian banks in more than two years by a company named Amir Mansour Aria, whose owner took advantage of some governmental recommendations to purchase assets of some state-owned enterprises, including Iran's second largest steel maker Khuzestan Steel Company.