Combating corruption/Iranian practices

An Iranian politician who served as vice-president under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sentenced to five years in jail and fined, Iranian state media reported.

Mohammad Reza Rahimi, who was appointed in 2009 after Ahmadinejad's re-election, was indicted in March in connection with a billion-dollar money laundering and embezzlement scheme.

The official state IRNA news agency said on Wednesday that Rahimi was sentenced to five years and 91 days in prison, fined and forced to pay restitution totalling 38.5 billion rials (about $1.3 million).

It did not specify what crimes Rahimi had been convicted of, but said a previous court sentenced him to 15 years prison…

In March, Iran hanged the first of four men sentenced to death for a massive financial scam that tainted the government of former President Ahmadinejad.

Iranian vice president under Ahmadinejad jailed for five years