Dozens of families of those imprisoned by the Islamic regime for participating in the December demonstrations have been targeted by a series of costly fraud schemes, Dadban, a network of pro-bono lawyers and jurists that provides legal counsel, education, and support to political prisoners, protesters, and rights activists in Iran, claimed on Saturday.
A wife of one of the protesters detained in December, referred to as Mrs. M, told Dadban that she received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be cooperating with the IRGC, and claimed she needed to pay 400 million tomans, nearly $300, to persuade the judge to grant her husband bail. The funds were not immediately available to Mrs. M, who was forced to raise the money and suffer “considerable hardship” in doing so, but were instead handed over to an individual at an established location. Once the payment was made, Mrs….
PROCUREMENT & EXPENDITURE (STOPPING KICKBACKS)
Procurement fraud usually involves inflated invoices or “fictitious” vendors.
- The Three-Way Match: Never pay an invoice unless you have matched the Purchase Order (PO), the Delivery Note (signed), and the Supplier Invoice.
- Vendor Master File Review: Review your vendor list annually. Look for suppliers with the same bank details or physical addresses as your employees.
- Dual Authorization: Implement a “Two-to-Sign” rule for all EFT payments above a certain threshold (e.g., R5,000).
- No “Cashing” of Checks: If you still use physical checks, strictly prohibit “Cash” as a payee and store blank checks in a dual-lock safe.