Valiollah Seif (, born 1 January 1952) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. He was the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Central Bank of Iran The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CBI; ; SWIFT Code: BMJIIRTH), also known as ''Bank Markazi'', was established under the Iranian Banking and Monetary Act in 1960. It serves as the banker to the Iranian government and has the e ...

from 2013 until 2018.

Early life

Seif was born on 1 January 1952 in Nahavnd. He gained his Bsc. and Msc. from

Petroleum University of Technology The Petroleum University of Technology () is an Iranian public university funded by the Ministry of Petroleum particularly by its main company, the NIOC. It was founded in 1939 in Abadan in response to the increasing industrialization of Iran ...

(former N.I.O.C. school of Accounting and Finance) and his Ph.D. from Allameh Tabatabaei University in

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

. He is currently a professor at the Allameh University.

Career

He was CEO and chairman of some private banks in Iran, Mellat Bank (1990–1992), Saderat Bank (1992–1995), Sepah Bank (1995–2000), Future Bank of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

(2001–2003) and Karafarin Bank (2010–2013). He was also governor of National Bank of Iran from 2003 to 2007. He was nominated as governor of

by the bank's board of directors and was accepted by President

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...

. He was officially appointed on 2 September 2013 and quickly hinted that

interest rates An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...

should rise in order to control

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

in the country. He is currently vice president of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Honours

He received gold medal for Public Relations from President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

in January 2011. He was also named as one of Iran's banking industry faces persistent in 2012.

Criticisms

In November 1995, following the embezzlement of 123 billion tomans ($820 million) of Bank Saderat Iran Valiollah Seif who was chairman of the bank at the time was criticized. In 2017, Seif's reputation was hit hard when one of the five official Central Bank-approved credit institutions was unable to pay back the deposits of the customers. Unable to give reasonable explanation to the public, Valiollah Seif was soon the target for the public, media, and government officials. Protesters generally called for his execution. In 2017 case was filed against Seif. On 13 September 2018, immediately after dismissal from service he was designated as an advisor for financial and banking affairs of Hassan Rouhani. The judiciary's spokesman, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei explained: he was accused of violating the law after the arrest of his deputy for currency affairs, Ahmad Araqchi (the brother of deputy Foreign Minister

Abbas Araghchi Sayyid Abbas Araghchi (, ; also spelled Araqchi, born 5 December 1962) is an Iranian diplomat and politician, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran since August 2024. He previously served as the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign A ...

). In 2021, his case was referred to an economic court. Tehran Prosecutor General, Ali Alqasi Mehr accused Valiollah Seif of "repeatedly violating regulations" and of "dereliction of duty" Which has caused "Wasting" more than $30bn and 60 tonnes of gold reserves.

Jail sentence

In 2021, he was sentenced to 10 years behind bars on corruption charges.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seif, Valiollah 1952 births Academic staff of Allameh Tabataba'i University Living people Iranian economists Iranian bankers People from Hamadan Governors of the Central Bank of Iran Iranian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions