Iran jails former vice president over corruption

Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Iran’s former vice president, has been jailed after being found guilty over corruption charges, state media has said.

Rahimi, a top aide to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was transferred to jail on Sunday after being convicted by Iran’s supreme court of corruption last month.

IRNA, the official state news agency, said Rahimi had been brought to Evin prison, north of the capital Tehran, to serve his five year jail term.

A local court had initially sentenced Rahimi to 15 years but the supreme court reduced the term to five years and three months.

Rahimi was also ordered to pay a $300,000 fine and compensation equivalent to $800,000.

Ahmadinejad had claimed he led “the cleanest government in Iran’s history” but his opponents had long accused his government of massive corruption.

In May last year, Iran executed billionaire businessman Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, convicted of being at the heart of a $2.6bn state bank scam.