By: Moja Dolenjska
Given the current fervent support for Iran by Robert Golob, Nataša Pirc Musar, and Tanja Fajon, it is worth recalling the Iranian money laundering of suspicious, potentially terrorist-linked origin through Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB). It is estimated that around €1.8 billion was laundered, with commissions – mostly in cash – amounting to about 30 percent. Cash was even withdrawn via ATMs. €990 at a time, so as not to raise suspicion.
After the revelation, only in 2017, when a hearing was supposed to take place in a Slovenian court, Simon Golub, the former head of the Department for Financial Crime and Money Laundering at the General Police Directorate, died in a so-called workplace accident (officially from falling off a ladder). Golub had covered for them at the time, but it remains an open question what he might have said in court. Today, on social media, we read that criminal investigator Kok also allegedly fell off a ladder.
Here is how the laundering of suspicious, potentially terrorism-linked Iranian money went down:
On Friday, December 12th, 2008, Iraj Farrokhzadeh, an Iranian citizen with a British passport, opened an account at state-owned NLB (Nova Ljubljanska Banka). Over the next two years, about €1.8 billion was funnelled through that account to various other accounts. This later became one of the biggest financial scandals in Slovenia since independence. Law enforcement failed to do its job, even though recipients included fictional names like Superman, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Anna Karenina.
This was happening after the September 2008 elections, when the then-government led by Janez Janša was toppled due to the politically motivated and fabricated Patria case.
The parliamentary commission that was investigating irregularities in state banks (connected to the major banking collapse) accidentally came across the banking documents. After uncovering them, the case was handed over to the Commission for Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services, which also informed the public.
The events relate to 2009 and 2010, and to transactions made by one of the Iranian banks under international embargo. Large sums were first sent to an account at NLB and then dispersed by the Iranian individual through Proklik (NLB’s online banking system) to more than 9,000 accounts worldwide, belonging to individuals and companies.
There was suspicion that the scheme may have also funded nuclear weapons development and terrorism.
It is alleged that Slovenia’s then top political leadership was aware of this yet took no action. Even the Office for Money Laundering Prevention did not react. NLB closed the Iranian citizen’s account only after other banks began flagging suspicious activity – two years after the account was opened. Reportedly, over 400 warnings from other banks were received, and some even ceased doing business with NLB as a result. Foreign intelligence services, including those from France, Italy, and the United States, had also raised alarms.
NLB (headed at the time by Marjan Kramar) also charged the Iranian no or extremely low fees for the massive inflows and outflows. Estimates suggest that around €300 million in commissions, which should have gone to the bank, ended up elsewhere.
All institutions knew about these transactions – yet all remained silent.
It was later established that at least 100 people knew about the affair, ranging from bank employees to the highest levels of political, police, and intelligence leadership.
The main culprit is undoubtedly the Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering, which failed to carry out its duties. Worse, it allegedly misled domestic and foreign services. The police failed too, they did not notify the state prosecutor’s office, as required by law. Just before the 2011 elections, the case was shelved.
Thirteen years later, economist and publicist Rado Pezdir dedicated a chapter of his book Parallel Mechanism of the Deep State to the Farrokh Affair. This came a year after a special group of investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation (NPU) and prosecutors from the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office concluded part of the investigation in January 2020, claiming that bankers had not abused their positions.