Pedram Pirouzan Exchange is the latest Iranian Exchange House to be exposed through a data leak. Its sanctions-evading and money-laundering schemes contribute to the functioning of the Shadow Banking. The figures that enable these practices are exposed in this article.

Pedram Pirouzan Exchange House is a major facilitator of sanction-busting international transactions on behalf of Iranian entities. Like many other exchange houses previously exposed on WikIran, this exchange house operates within a broader financial ecosystem known as "Shadow Banking" – a crucial mechanism enabling the Islamic Republic to survive under international sanctions.

As its name suggests, the exchange house is owned and managed by Pedram Pirouzan – a long standing figure in Iran's foreign exchange sector. However, his business partner and co-owner of the exchange house, Hossein Mohammadrezaei, remains largely unknown.

A trading license for one of Pedram Pirouzan Exchange’s front company, Al Kawkab Al Ahmar Building Materials Trading L.L.C, lists both of its owners: Pedram Pirouzan and Hossein Mohammadrezaei.

Another notable detail is the unusual nationality of both men: Pirouzan and Mohammadrezaei’s are citizens of the Commonwealth of Dominica, a well-known tax haven that grants citizenships to individuals who make significant investments in the country.

According to media publications, Pirouzan and Mohammadrezaei obtained Caribbean Island passports around 2017 and used them, among other illicit activities, to transfer tens of thousands of Euros in 2019 through one of their front companies in Hong Kong. The funds were transferred from the Iranian mobile provider MTN Irancell to Spain Football league, LaLiga, for sponsorship purposes. Notably, MTN Irancell is directly linked to the Mostazafan Foundation, a sanctioned Iranian conglomerate with close ties to Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Name: Pedram Pirouzan

Nationalities: Iran, Commonwealth of Dominica, UAE (resident)

ID Numbers: 0082944581 (Iran National Code),RA037754 (Dominica Passport), 219422862 (UAE Resident)

Name: Hossein Mohammadrezaei

Nationalities: Iran, Commonwealth of Dominica

ID Numbers: RA021882 (Dominican Passport)

Unlike most exchange house owners, who remain hidden behind shell structures, the owners of Pedram Pirouzan Exchange House are openly listed as managers of a significant number of their front companies – a rare level of visibility in this ecosystem.

This power duo appears to have stronger western ties many of their peers: Hossein Mohammadrezaei owns a bank account in the Portugal-based Millenium BCP bank (Acc. 45654342041):

In the coming days, WikIran will delve deeper into the front companies revealed in the Pedram Pirouzan Exchange data leak, aiming to map their business activities with precision. These operations represent a crucial pillar in the financial and functional survival of the Iranian regime.