Middle East

Jun. 30, 2018 | 12:07 AM

As sanctions bit, Iranian executives bought African passports

Bozorgmehr SharafedinDavid Lewis| Reuters

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on June 30, 2018, on page 9.

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Summary

Reuters found that more than 100 of 155 people who had their Comoros passports canceled in January were Iranians.

In all, more than 1,000 people whose place of birth was listed as in Iran bought Comoros passports between 2008 and 2017, according to details of a database of Comoros passports reviewed by Reuters.

The governments would buy the Comoros passports, and then distribute them to the Bidoon.

According to the data reviewed by Reuters, Iranians who bought Comoros passports as sanctions squeezed Iran and while Ikililou held power included:

That passport was one of those cancelled by the Comoros government early this year.